Learn to Lose you, Can't Afford to
by c.eliza.mur
Summary: Riley had had a day. A day full of ex-boyfriends, friends crossing boundaries and now... Now she was potentially marrying Mac. It's be a really long day.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

 **Please let me know what you think x**

* * *

 **Prologue**

* * *

Numb.

She should be feeling something at this stage, right?

Post-break up; a time when people drown themselves in copious amounts of ice-cream and alcohol to wipe their memory clean of any resemblance of the traumatic event.

Maybe it hadn't registered with her yet.

The blaring music traveling from her earphones created a protective bubble from the outside world as Riley moved through the corridors of Phoenix. Trapping her hands within the oversized pocket of her hoodie, she scrunched the wire of headphones between her fingers trying to ease the growing anxiety within her stomach. Her confused feelings were squeezed in a knot and buried beneath layers of insecurities that she wasn't ready to deal with yet.

So, her brain settled on 'numb'.

 _I guess this is how I deal with being broken up with_.

The realization that Billy was her first serious relationship struck her with such finality, her boots stuttered slightly along the pristine floors.

Riley's had boyfriends in the past, but nothing serious.

In first grade, Michael Rogers slyly unwrapped his cheese sandwich and left half on her desk.

That was her first indication that he would make a wonderful boyfriend. That relationship came to an abrupt halt when she discovered he called Lucy Harris a ' _fat pig_ ', so she took the rest of his lunch and shared with Lucy.

In middle school, Aaron Lewis started writing her 'love notes' in class. She waited for him after basketball practice every Monday and Thursday, and after a week; he was her first kiss. It was sweet, until he laughed in her face about the thought of her liking computers. She broke up with him and laughed when he asked for help with math.

In high school, Mark Jameson caught her fancy by his rebel attitude and aloof demeanor. He didn't want to label them as a couple because he didn't believe in giving into the 'social norms set up by a biased society'. Riley would've stuck with him longer but her home life fell to shambles and he turned out to be a shitty friend, let alone boyfriend. She needed to feel in control, so she isolated herself for a while until she felt as if she achieved that goal.

Allowing herself to slip into a bubble was habit that Riley didn't feel like breaking today, planning on spending the bones of daylight hours cooped up in Phoenix's server rooms with her laptop. Falling into realms of code; she tried to find a way to upgrade the PC's without leaving a gap in security where potential hackers could slip though.

With her mind completely absorbed, she barely noticed she had acquired a second shadow.

One that had now fallen into step beside her.

Pushing her headphones back from her ears, they plonked gently to rest snugly around her neck, and the silence of Phoenix's weekend corridors washed over her once again.

Riley didn't have to look to her left to know who was sauntered along next to her.

"How long have you been following me?" she asked MacGyver as she pushed the door to the server room open, dropping her back pack against the wall and flipping on the switch in one fluid motion.

"Long enough to know you might need re-training on observation in the field," Mac replied, his mouth ticking up at the edge with its usual smirk. The glint in his blue eyes told her he was joking, but it didn't stop her from rolling her own. His blonde hair was tousled from running his hands through it, and his sleeves were rolled to his elbows, which led Riley to believe he'd been here all morning.

"So, what made you come in here on a Saturday?" she asked while pulling a lengthy cord and her laptop out of her never-ending rucksack.

"There is a lot more paperwork revolving around blowing up things than there used to be."

"You're starting to sound like Jack."

"Now that's just rude," he replied while feigning hurt, resulting in a small smirk from his sarcastic friend. He began strolling around the room, eyes glazing over all the machines as their light twinkled while they worked. A broken CPU sat in the corner of the room; the front taken off leaving all the wires exposed, catching his attention. This wasn't unusual for MacGyver, he would often find random broken machines and make it his mission to put them back together again. In that moment, she was surprised to find she liked the company, in contrast to past moments when she preferred to work alone.

Riley began working away, enjoying the lone sound of the machine's humming in unison. Except for Mac's phone which seemed to _bing_ softly, alerting him of a new text message.

Loosing track off time when a giant yawn escaped her, causing her to stretch and drag herself away from her laptop. Mac sat cross-legged in the middle of a mess of computer pieces and had somehow managed to acquire a screw driver. Broad shoulders were hunched slightly forward and the wrinkle between his eyebrows from concentration, now seemed to be a permanent fixture. Riley wondering how many hundred things flowed through that big brain of his, or was he thinking at all as his hands and physical motions taking over.

"You better be cleaning that up," Riley declared, dragging him from whatever world he had just created in his mind.

He let out a quick bark of laughter, the smile he wore glowing up his entire face, "well I'm definitely not asking _you_ ," his retort came in a lighthearted tone causing Riley's mouth to turn upwards.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, and why do I feel so offended?" Laughter lacing its way through her tone.

"Should I remind you of that time you offered to clean up after Jack cooked us all dinner. Remember? It was after the Moscow trip. Or how about that time after the Denmark job? Riles you dropped a combined 7 plates and somehow managed to break a metal spoon," he said while placing the screwdriver on the floor and giving her his full attention.

"Okay need I remind you, we were all extremely jetlagged after both of those trips so my clumsiness was totally accounted for," she justified, her hand exaggerating the gesture, only humoring MacGyver more.

"A tired Riley is a clumsy Riley; noted," his grin widening when he saw her try to hide her matching smile. A couple of beats of silence glided by before MacGyver spoke again.

"I never asked, but why did you feel the need to dive into your _cave of computers_ today?" he said while motioning all around him with the screw driver.

"The cave of computers? Someone's getting adventurous with their expressions," she responded, darting her eyes back towards her computer screen attempting to detach herself from the situation. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mac's head tilt to the side, the cogs in his mind beginning to turn as he assessed her behavior. She didn't want to talk about it, she wasn't _ready_ to talk about it.

Yet at the same time; she felt as if she was about to explode

"Just felt like getting out of the apartment today," she added, trying to pass off as casual but her words were strained as they squeezed from her tight throat.

MacGyver hummed, as if in agreement but she could tell he wasn't convinced. Never one to press her for information, he looked down at the machine around him and began tinkering away again.

Riley desperately wanted to launch herself back into her work, but her shaking fingers and unfocused eyes stopped her. The knot in her stomach began to press painfully, growing until it felt like it was rubbing against her beating heart. Words had tumbled from her mouth until she realized they had fallen.

"Billy and me… we broke up," she blurted, and much to her horror; her computer screen became blurry with tears. Picking at the small scab next to her thumb, she couldn't bear to glance over to see pity in her friend's eyes. "Something about miscommunication. Or not telling him my feelings… or how I _actually_ feel or some shit… I don't really know. I don't think _he_ even knew. But do you want to know the worst part about this? I don't know if I'll really miss him." She stopped suddenly with realization, her eyes meeting MacGyvers' unintentionally.

"Which is… I mean that just makes me a horrible person, right? I thought I was nearly in lo-," she halted her words once more, exhaling loudly while scraping her fingers through her hair, "I'm just really confused I guess."

She had never told Billy she loved him.

But she was close. And now… it was suddenly over.

Mac's phone _binged_ once more as a tear slid down her cheek, both feeling like the loudest noise and the sharpest of touches. Hastily, she pushed the wetness from her skin, the need to flee springing to the forefront of her motions and without much thought she began to pack her things back into her bag. Riley's skin was on fire with embarrassment, having had no intention of spilling her feelings to anyone today. Mumbling an apology to Mac, and rushed out the door without a second glance.

She was halfway through the corridors before she heard the quick pound of boots against the tile floors. Mac had to call her three times before she turned to face him.

He didn't wear pity in his eyes, but the grim expression that pulled his mouth in a thin line told her he was worried.

"You're not a horrible person," he blurted out, "the opposite in fact, and if Billy doesn't see that then… he's a moron, okay? And, I know I'm not great at giving advice or insight into breakups, let's face it; my track record hasn't been fantastic," he quirked, and accomplished a small huff of agreement from Riley, "but I do know what helps." Approaching her slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, hoping to show her some support.

She still had her own arms encasing her laptop, so she couldn't return the favor. Somehow the awkwardness and uncharacteristic behavior of the hug gave it more charm, and lightened her spirits slightly.

"I'm not sure being _really corny_ helps me in this situation," she retorted, having to lay her head to the side, otherwise; he wouldn't hear her mumbling through his t-shirt. The vibration of laughter moved along her cheek before the chuckle reached her ears.

"I'm doing the best I can, I know Jack is probably better at the whole _advising_ thing. Have you told him actually?"

"And what? Let him lecture me about all the different ways he's going to inflict pain onto Billy? Not really what I felt like today," she responded quietly, her body slowly succumbing to exhaustion. The sound of Mac's heart under her ear lulling her, her breathing pattern returning to a less painful rate.

"Do you feel like a few beers later with myself, Bozer and Jack? I won't tell them anything unless you want me to," he asked, losing the grip he had on his friend, he pulled back and hoped he had helped.

Still slightly shaken from seeing her so upset, all he wanted to do was wipe away her pain and he had never felt so useless in that moment. Usually he's the guy that can fix things, solve problems, to _help;_ yet when Riley's watery gaze met his, his stomach dropped and he had no idea how to help. He froze for a moment when she had fled the room, but a small voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like Jack's, told him to follow her.

A hug and some alcohol seemed like the next logical step.

Riley finally smiled up at MacGyver and responded, "that sounds pretty great actually." And in that moment, she was r _eally_ thankful for her friends.

* * *

Arriving early at Mac's house probably wasn't her best idea. Riley needed to drop some of Billy's things to his place after realizing how much crap he had at hers, and she had the intention of going home after, but things didn't go exactly as planned. Handing the bag containing one of his jumpers, a toothbrush and a murder mystery novel, to Billy, wasn't the main event of course. He sent her sad eyes, the cliché, _I wish things could've been different_ , which she had expected.

What she hadn't seen coming was his mother waiting outside her car.

 _"_ _You broke my boy's heart you know," Mama Colton evenly said, removing herself from the leaning position against Riley's mud ridden car. She eyed Riley from head to toe, as if searching for what Billy had once seen in her._

 _"_ _Don't know if you got the memo, but Billy is the one that called it off," she coldly responded. Clicking her car to unlock, she griped onto the handle preparing to jump into her vehicle and escape from this dreaded scene. A perfectly manicured hand pushed against the driver's door, halting her movements._

 _Riley didn't say anything._

 _Perhaps it was the tiredness in her bones from confrontation, or maybe it was slight curiosity of what the woman had to say._

 _"_ _You broke his heart, because you wouldn't let him get at yours. If I hadn't have stepped in, who knows how long you would've been stringing him along."_

 _Stuck in that position, Riley was left standing outside her car, griping onto the door handle. Not realizing what moment Mama Colton walked away, but Riley had felt as if someone had kicked her off the edge of the cliff and she was left falling for eternity._

 _Anger, humiliation; all slammed into her at once. Whipping open the door, she threw herself into the sear and started the engine. She was promising alcohol._

 _She was going to need a lot of it._

* * *

Therefore, she arrived at the house a couple of hours early. Day drinking was acceptable in these situations, right?

"Riley? I thought you were coming over at 8?" Bozer asked her, his eyes squinting slightly with confusion. A red, slimy sauce covered the top of the wooden spoon he held in his left hand. Riley watched a dollop of sauce smack against the wooden floor before she replied.

"Felt like coming sooner. Are the guys here?" Riley brushed passed him, heading straight for the kitchen. Shrugging off her leather jacket, and throwing it in the usual bar stool. She always felt at home at MacGyver's house.

Jack would regularly stroll in, his voice in a low drawl as he confidently explained how he caught the latest crook, in one swift move or even on special occasions, with one deadly stare. She never missed the pride in his voice when he added in the pieces about Mac created an explosive out of scrap, or a gun out of shoe laces. He would always try and explain what Riley did on the laptop to track the villain in his story, sure; he got most of the details wrong, but it was always more enjoyable hearing it from him. Even as a child, she would stare up at him in awe as he threw away her fairytales and made up stories about Riley taking over the world, with a computer under one arm and a shield in the other. The 'Riley' in Jack's stories always took the highest precaution for her safety.

Riley could really do with a Jack Dalton story right now.

"Are you alright?" Bozer asked, as he watched her pop the cap of the beer against the countertop.

Lifting the bottle to meet her lips, she took one fell swoop before answering, "peachy."

"The guys got called on a quick mission. An agent stuck in a building that's supposed to come down. Emergency services have it handled, but I think they just needed some out of the box thinking, which our boy's territory lays in," Bozer explained, returning to the oversized pot on the stove. Sticking the spoon in and swirling it around, he continued to glance at Riley from the corner of his eye, "you want to tell me what's really going on?"

"Billy and I are over. Now be my friend and grab a beer. I don't want to talk about it." Taking another long gulp from her beer. Bozer didn't tear his eyes away from her, switching from one leg to the other as he made his decision. Throwing the spoon into the sink, sending a small spray off red sauce that hit the belly of the metallic tap.

"Ever heard of the drinking game for _friends_?" referring to the television show as he sank down on the couch next to her. Riley smiled gratefully and grabbed the remote.

* * *

Bubbling laughter swirled around in Riley's stomach before erupting at the stupid face Bozer pulled. Her face was flush from too much alcohol, and the grim expression had been long wiped from her features after a couple of beers, a bottle of wine and Bozer's stories of himself and Mac as teenagers.

"So, we both go up to Ellie Kepner, I approach her from behind, a bouquet of roses behind my back. Mac goes in from the side, with some weird smokey stuff in a bottle," Bozer's eyes were wide as he goes through the story, adding in unnecessary details and memories of what he was thinking, "and she's talking to her friend… Lucy? No, Lily… jeez what was that girl's name?" Looking towards the ceiling as if God would shout down the answer.

Riley's impatience kicked in quickly as she practically shouted, "does it matter? Get on with the story!"

"Sorry, sorry okay where was I again?" Bozer asked her, his words tripping over themselves as they left his mouth. For a moment Riley forgot, her mind completely blank as she gripped the neck of the wine bottle. A drop of condensation had run down the length of the bottle and slipped onto her hand, and for the single second it was all she could feel. And then it hit her.

"Ellie Keppy!" she yelled, her voice ringing even in her own ears. She looked up from the bottle, only to find Bozer was already staring at her.

"Oh, yeah that, she already had a date to prom. But then closer to the time, her date bailed. Me and Mac were back in the game," he voice was faraway, as if wasn't really connected to his voice, his mind in a completely different place. Riley probably should've realized this, but all she could feel was the fuzziness on her teeth and the thought that the word ' _Keppy'_ was quite hilarious.

"So Mac told me to go for it. Said he didn't want to fight over a girl. We promised, no 'exes'. It's a good rule" Bozer looked at Riley, the intensity never leaving his eyes.

"Do you think I should change my name to Keppy?" Riley asked him while laughing, forgetting what they were talking about. _She really need water,_ the logically part of her mind told her. But the kitchen was _so far away._

"Do you think I should break up with Leanna?" Bozer blurted out, his eyes glassy from the wine.

"I like Leanna. Do you… not like her anymore?" Riley asked him, trying and slightly failing at offering some insight. Her mind trying to concentrate but it was moving too slowly for the words falling from her mouth, "do you want to date the other girl?"

"What other girl?" Bozer asked her quickly, his eyes scanning her face.

"The girl you and Mac liked? From the story," she stated like it was obvious.

"No that's not _the_ girl," Bozer said, letting the words hang in the air. The laughter from the TV startling Riley's thoughts into action. It was like an electric current shocking her system alive, the words sinking into the different parts of her brain.

The logically part told her they were both drunk, very drunk and they should not be discussing feelings. She knew Bozer had liked her at some stage, but she was happy friends. She needed her friend.

Both the other part of her brain needed comfort, from anyone offering. Maybe they could, just once…

Was he… leaning in for a kiss?

 _Oh no._

Riley felt as if she was being pulled from her body, and plonked back into the reality of the situation. Her legs were moving before her brain caught onto what was happening.

"Where are you going?" Bozer called after her. Riley didn't look back as she moved quickly away from the couch. Away from the situation.

"I'm going… going to vomit in the toilet. Don't follow," she practically yelled back. It wasn't her smoothest lie, but before she knew it, her back was against the back of the closed bedroom door. Burying her head in her hands with unwanted tears leaking through her fingers.

She sighed heavily before looking around the room. Dull moonlight flooded the room with a soft glow, shining toward a comfortable looking chair. Pulling herself up from the ground while willing the room to stop spinning, she curled herself onto the chair, and waited for the nauseous feeling to dissipate and her somewhat logical sense to return.

Riley's eyes slipped shut and her finally thought wafted through her mind, _she really needed that glass of water._

* * *

Bone dry. That's the sensation her mouth felt, as if someone had stuck a heater in her mouth and evaporated all the moisture left.

She hated wine.

She hated beer.

She hated hangovers.

"How about you try the asprin next to you," a soft voice told her. One that sounded similar to a scientist she knew. Scraping her eyes open, her blurry eyes clear to produce a very humored MacGyver. "Heard you grumbling about alcohol and hangovers, thought you might need this," gesturing towards her with a drink of water and pills.

She felt she couldn't even think or her head would protest louder.

"But… what are you doing here?" she timidly asked him, the pain of her head looming over her. She felt confused.

And nauseous. Very, very nauseous.

"In my bedroom? I usually sleep here. But last night after a very long, strenuous couple of hours saving a life," he told her sarcastically, earning a small roll of her eyes which made his grin wider, "I was surprised to find a 'passed out Bozer' on my couch," he continued, watched her face contort into a grimace as last night began rushing back, "and you; unconscious on my chair. You were like a cat, all curled up like that. I moved you here because I thought it might hurt your back. Why didn't you sleep on the bed?" He asked her, slightly laughing at the memory.

"Too far away. Where did you sleep?" she shamefully said, as Mac gestured to the chair she had dragged herself onto last night. Realizing how drunk she was, overwhelmed her for a moment before noticed Mac still holding the water for her. Pulling herself up into a seating position, she tried to ignore her pounding headache and sensitive stomach and gratefully took the Asprin from him.

"What was that face for," MacGyver asked her, she raised one of her eyebrows in slight confusion, still drinking from her water, "when I mentioned Bozer. You pulled this weird expression." He tried to recreate the look but it only appeared as if he was smelling something slightly askew, which resulted in her slightly choking on the water with a surprised laugh.

It took her a moment to catch her breath, and collect her thoughts. She stared at Mac's door, the one she had sat against crying just a few short hours ago. Then she thought of how she broke down in the Phoenix yesterday, and she didn't feel like hashing it out again.

She really didn't want to feel weak today.

Needing to grasp control over the situation, Riley wanted to see if she could solve the issue before it became anything problematic. Clearly Bozer still had feelings for her. Which weren't reciprocated, she loved him as a friend.

She was happy they were only friends and would only ever be friends. Yet last night, she almost ruined that. By almost taking advantage of his feelings for her to gain comfort when she was at her lowest. Riley wasn't ready to admit that to anyone yet, she could hardly get her own head around it.

"We just got drunk. Too drunk. Do you think you could give me a lift home? I definitely still have alcohol in my system," she asked him, hoping he would drop the situation. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he waited for a moment as if he was considering his options.

"Sure. You want a fresh sweater?" He replied, letting the conversation slide into something more casual, which she was intensely grateful for.

Raising her eyebrow once again and sending him her best death stare, "are you saying I stink Mac?"

His eyes widen for a spit second before he realized her game, throwing the item of clothing at her head he chuckled, but Riley caught the slight redness that tinged his cheeks, "I'll find your keys."

Her 'thanks' was muffled by pushing her head through the neck of the oversized sweater. Gathering her thoughts, she stayed in the position of cross legged on his bed, planning out her next actions. Ensure that Bozer knows they're just friends, without hurting him in the process.

She was going to fix this.

* * *

The noise of the front door closing caused Jack to pull his head out of Mac's fridge. Already half way through making a sandwich and didn't feel like making another one for someone, he checked to see if Bozer had got up from his slumber on the couch.

 _Dead to the world_ , he thought happily as he took a sizeable chunk out of his meal as Bozer continued to snort in his sleep. Flicking his eyes towards the window, he watched as MacGyver unlocked… _Riley's car?_

Mac had mentioned everyone coming over for drinks yesterday, but because of work and the late finish time; he assumed it was cancelled. Drawing the conclusion that Riley and Bozer drank themselves under the table, and she must've sleep in Bozer's bed if he was on the couch.

Content again that everything made sense, Jack brought the meat filled sub close to his lips once more before a noise to the right alerted him. The sight and the link Jack's brain made caused his hands to freeze.

 _Riley wearing Mac's college hoodie._

 _Riley leaving Mac's bedroom._

 _Bozer; on the couch which means… only one place for Mac to sleep._

His sandwich slipped from his mustard stained fingers as he stared at an oblivious Riley leaving the house, bounding down the path towards Mac. She held her hand over her eyes as if to block out the sun, and her movements were a little more cautious. A huge smile crossed his face and his lips moved to tell her something, which caused Riley head to throw back in laughter.

 _Mac and Riley?_

 _And no one told him?_

Picking up the sandwich from the floor with a sense of determination flowing through him, he took another bite as Bozer gave an impressive snore from the couch.

 _Someone better tell him what the hell is going on._

* * *

The knot in Riley's stomach lay pressed against her ribcage, with each beat of her heart; it pounded along with it. Her mind in circles, she tried different options on how to let Bozer down gently.

 _Could she pretend nothing happened?_

 _Or would that be stringing him along?_

Which would mean every word she said to him, she had to double check. The fear of insinuations and miscommunications always on her brain. Does she be blunt? Tell him they're just friends, and lay all her cards on the table while hoping he doesn't get hurt.

Riley maneuvered one of the wires behind the screen in the war room. For some reason the screen kept turning black during meetings and it was driving Maddy insane. Riley wasn't an electrician but she told her boss she'd give it her best shot. Balancing on a chair, with her laptop resting on one arm and the other hand pulling out wires and plugging them back in again.

The door of the war room was creaked open so the soft sound of the buzzing hallway wafted into the room like a gentle breeze. One particular, conversation caught her interest.

Riley had the clear glass of the meeting room clouded over, not wanting nosy people staring in at her therefore she couldn't see who was speaking. However, within the next few words spoken; she had it figured it out.

"Seriously Leanne, I know there's something up?"

"Can you please keep your voice down?" Leanne whispered to the other person, who sounded like another agent. Riley couldn't figure out if it was the one with untamed red hair or the 7-foot woman who seriously intimidated her.

"Come on, you've been walking around all morning looking like you're about to cry. Spill."

"Bozer and I… he ended things. This morning before work," Leeanne whispered, her voice wavering over the words. Riley couldn't hear much else, a slurry of people filling the hallways at once, nattering away and masking Leanne's voice.

 _Oh god… did Bozer break up with Leanne… for her?_

Riley's heart began to wildly thump in her chest, nausea filled her body, swirling around and causing her to feel dizzy.

 _What was she going to do?_

Riley was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't see Jack enter the room.

"When my family start dating, I expect to know about it!" Jack's red face scrunched up along his forehead, as if he was holding himself back from exploding into a fit of rage. Riley's mind was tripping over itself, and it took her a minute to organize the words. Then quickly realizing… she had no idea what the hell Jack was talking about.

"Wait are… your relations… doing it?" she asked cautiously, slightly wobbly on top of the chair that she was still standing on.

"What? No, not my blood relatives. I'm talking about you guys, I didn't even know you and Billy ended things," Jack exclaimed, throwing his hands out towards her as if to emphasis his point.

 _Did Bozer say something?_

Riley's legs slowly began to crumple beneath her, her head feeling as if it was floating and her whole body felt ten times it weight. Jack caught on quickly, a dramatic 'woah' escaping his lips as he caught her before she could've fallen. Lifting her from her standing position on the chair, he sat her down on it instead. Catching her face between his hands, he looked her over, "tell me what's wrong, what hurts."

Gently her eyes closed for a second, only allowing herself to concentrate on her breathing. She was overwhelmed.

Very overwhelmed.

"Are you dizzy? Do you want me to go get Mac?" Jack asked her, she could hear the worry underneath his voice. Slightly confused as to why Jack would think she needed Mac to see her having a minor panic attack.

Unless...

Opening her eyes, she stared at Jack, her head stopped swirling as she tried to concentrate on what Jack was thinking.

"I'm sure he'd want to know, it might help? But I won't tell him if you don't want me too. You can tell me anything- you know that Riles don't you?" .

"Jack… what are you talking about?" She asked him, her words croaking and soft.

"I thought, you and Mac were…," he replied, but as he watched her blanked stare he quickly ended that train of think, "Sorry kiddo, I jumped the gun there. You and Billy-"

"Broke up." Riley completed the sentence, her hands were still shaking and her heart rate had only began to return to it's normal rate. Jack reached over and griped her hand, the pity in his eyes shattered her heart and she needed this moment to be over. Quickly, before she started crying again.

Suddenly, as if MacGyver heard the unvoiced calls, he strolled casually into the room with a carefree smile on his face; completely oblivious to the situation. He'd barely taken a step when he assessed the room, his eyes flicking to Jacks worried face and protective stance and Riley's slumped posture on the chair.

"What happened?" Mac asked hurriedly, his face now completely transformed and once again; Riley's guilt roll added up, feeling as if she would always be the root of the problem.

Riley opened her mouth to speak but Jack beat her to it, "our girl got a bit lightheaded I think, pale, green, looked like shit-"

"Thanks Jack, I'm fine now." Riley's had her eyes on Mac as he tried to figure out a way to help. Jack sent a mute nod, but didn't move a muscle before Riley assured him that she "was fine."

Mac stood in front of Riley, arms crossed with his brow furrowed, "could be low blood pressure, alcohol also dehydrates you" he began listing off possible effects, Riley tried to interrupt him but he seemed to be on a roll.

"Also; could be anemia, when's the last time you've got your bloods checked? Ask them to check your iron." Mac rambled on, reading from an imaginary medical journal in his mind as he searched Riley for clues. She could feel her impatience rising, as she watched him spout out different diseases.

Maddy entered into the room, completely ignoring the situation, she began speaking, "Mac, Riley; you're going undercover. We have information of a neighborhood currently being stalked by a terrorist organization. There's more information incoming, right now I need you both to head down to analytics where we can set you both up with ID's. We'll wait three days before moving in. Tomorrow I need ye to be _seen_ looking at the apartment, so people aren't too shocked by the sudden arrival. Make it as smooth transition as possible. Oh, and you'll be posing as husband and wife."

Well that shut him up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and feedback so far, this has been so much fun**

* * *

 _Part 1_

* * *

The van skidded to a halt under Riley's control of the wheel. With her laptop balancing precariously on her lap, she yelled into her coms that she was in position.

Originally, they were to meet at the far side of the village outside a sweet bakery, one that cause Jack to _ooh_ and _awe_ at the selection of confectionaries in the window.

But when does their plan of action, ever go according to how they set out?

Which is how Riley ended up in an alley way that seemed eerily familiar of every horror film that contains a lone girl and a scary man. Condensation built up along the edges of the red brick, which were closed tight along the sides of the van.

Quickly scanning the security footage of the building in question, she saw no sign of the guys. There was two unconscious security men on the lobby floor, and five men tied up, with their heads slung low, in the honeymoon suite of the hotel. They had gotten intel of a stolen virus from the CDC that would eventually cause death if released. Riley didn't catch the details of what the virus could do, preferring to detach herself slightly so she could concentrate.

Tapping into the security footage beside her, she saw a woman dial a number at reception, looking and pointing to her left. She watched as a couple of security men began to walk out in that direction, even in the blurry footage, Riley could see their hands resting lightly on their guns.

Doing some quick geographical math in her head, she realized that she was at the end of the pointed finger.

"Guys I've been spotted, you need to be here now or we need a new meeting point," Riley told them, her voice level but her heart beating a mile a minute.

These guys were shoot first, question later.

"Couple of guys on our tail. 30 seconds Riles," Mac panted, clearing all three of them sprinted around the side of the building. Riley watched as the men walked in a line, their guns now out of the holster and raised slightly in front of them.

They were getting very close to the door that opened to the ally way, where she was currently sitting in an overheating van.

Movement in her wing mirrors made her twitch for her gun. Jacks grin should've relaxed her, but he was high off adrenaline, wide eyed and flushed cheeks. Mac and Bozer sliding back the doors with ease and throwing themselves into the van.

Jack went for the front seat, pulling open the door only for it to whack off the brick wall, not leaving him much room to squeeze in through the open gap.

Everything came to a halt. There was a beat of silence that was only filled with Mac and Bozer's heavy breathing.

Jack look tempted to try and contort his body through the tiny gap and the brick wall.

"Get in the back!" Riley yelled, causing all three men to wince in pain from the loud noise of the coms. Jack opened his mouth to argue but a bullet clicking of a bullet pinging off the van quickly changed his mind. Flinging himself into the back of the van, Mac pushed closed the sliding door as Riley kicked the van into gear and reversed out.

And if she hit any of the bad guys on the way out, so be it.

Her fellow agents' breathing only started to regulate after a few minutes of Riley driving like a lunatic down the street.

Bear in mind, she was dodging _bullets_.

Every time she swerved, Jack would hit against something, or something would hit him, and he would grumble loud enough for Riley to hear. This was always accommodated by Mac's laugh and Bozer's chanting to go faster.

Somehow, running from bad guys had become Riley's norm.

In two days, being married to Mac would have to be her norm.

They still didn't have all the intel, Maddy had an urgent message of the stolen virus so the meeting had to wait. Riley wasn't sure how long term the mission was, but she tried not to get too anxious about it yet

"Alright Maddy, see you in 10." Jacks voice drew Riley out of her daze.

Checking once again in her mirrors to see if they were being followed, she continued to drive until they arrived at a garage where they would drop the van off for other agents to collect; a safety precaution is what Maddy always called it.

"That was an easy one," Jack confidently drawled as he hoped out out of the van and headed for the other vehicle supplied by a random agent giving Jack the keys. Reaching for her bag to put on her back, Bozer beat her too it, sending her a quick smile before saying, "I got it."

Riley felt her heart sink; could be a friendly gesture or maybe more- either way it was causing her to seize up inside.

She really needed to talk to him tonight, maybe throw it in casually into conversation; "hey Bozer, I'll only ever see you as a friend: sorry man, hope we can still remain as close!"

Yup, seems great.

A message alert went off on Mac's phone, he ignored it once again and got into the car.

Jack of course, didn't let it go, "who in the hell keeps messaging you man?"

Mac shrugged off his question, asking again for Bozer to ensure the deadly toxin was secure.

She should really be more worried about that. Or maybe she should be worried about how she's more afraid of breaking her best friends heart than she is of the poison beside her.

Walking back into the lobby of the Phoenix, Jack was making exaggerated claims about conspiracy theories, Bozer was referencing movies, twisting them around to suit what Jack was talking about and Mac was cutting each theory down with logical answers.

None of it made sense, but Riley found herself laughing at their expense. Still smiling, she could feel Bozer staring at her out of the corner of her eye. Stepping slightly in front of her, he caught her attention with his serious expression.

Suddenly she wasn't laughing anymore.

Riley was completely frozen when suddenly she made eye contact with her now ex-boyfriend. Standing about ten feet behind Bozer, Billy began walking towards her, a sheepish expression on his face with his hands slung in his low pockets.

Well _shit_.

Bozer seemed to have gain the courage of one hundred men, considering they were in the workplace and late for their meeting with Maddy, but he decided this needed to be done now.

"Riles I've been doing a lot of thinking lately," he began, inching towards her as her feet were locked in place. She could see Billy, only a couple of feet away with that stupid smile. God, she wanted to slap the smile right off his face.

"Now's not the best time Bozer," Riley said, just as Billy reached them.

 _Pull the fire alarms?_

 _Pretend to be ill?_

 _Just run?_

Riley wasn't sure which option was best, but her mind seemed to be running a million miles an hour as everything slowed to an unbearable pace, unfolding into an catastrophic event; one horrific millisecond to the next.

"Hey Riley, how've you been?" Billy asked her, slow and smooth as if his charm could still sway her.

"What is this?" She asked him, hoping her voice didn't sound as shaky as her legs felt.

"Maybe you should go man," Bozer said to him, crossing his arms and morphing into a different person. Riley could feel the irritation grow from the tip of her toes, tingling all over her body as she watched the two men begin to square up against each other.

Billy smiled crookedly and flashing his teeth for a second, a laugh forming at the tip of his tongue, "ah, moved on so quick?" He asked her, attempted to be blasé but Riley could see the hurt in his eyes. Glaring at Bozer, he scanned him from head to toe, silently comparing each other.

"Bozer's my friend. What does it matter now anyway?" Riley's words cut her throat as they left her, punctuating each syllable with the harsh reality.

Bozer deflated slightly, but held his composure, moving in front of Riley as if she needed protection. Frustration boiled over as she watched the two men glare, she couldn't believe the absurdity of the situation.

"We should talk alone Riley," Billy said, somehow only staring at Bozer.

"I don't think Riley should go anywhere with you," Bozer replies, tilting his head as he moved a step closer to Billy.

She could feel the waves of aggression floating around them as it hit Riley with such force, she just felt exhaustion.

"This is a joke right, you're both being ridiculous," she said practically to herself as neither of the men seemed to be listening to her.

Closing her eyes for a second, she waited for a moment of divine intervention, anything to pull her from this absurd wreckage of emotions.

Suddenly, she was given just that.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mac and Jack strolled casually over. Jack making a beeline for the boys, a fake smile on his face an inquisitive look in his eye. Placing a hand each on their shoulder, Riley could see his fingers turn white with the tightness of the grip.

"What's the plan fellas, brawl right here in this nice foyer?" He laughed, confidence oozing from him as a smooth threat worked its way into his words.

"Davis, Maddy's been asking for you. It's urgent," Mac called out to her, not even looking at the guys as he signaled her to follow him.

"Tell your mom I said hello," Riley sarcastically said to Billy as she bumped his boulder marching past him.

Silently thanking Mac and his secret codes.

* * *

 _Riley's heart sank, the apartment was bugged, he was listening but he couldn't see them._

 _A mission gone wrong resulted in a man hidden somewhere in this house, with a child and a gun. Panicking the man was the worst thing she could do right now._

 _Mac's back straightened suddenly, and Riley knew he had just come to the same realization as her. Jack prowled the room, demanding they need to find him._

 _"_ _Place is clean, let's get out of here Angus," Riley said to him, her heart thumping in her chest; hoping he would understand. Placing her gun in her holster carefully, she waited for him to answer. Jack made noises of protest, but sending him a quick death stare he silenced._

 _Turn around slowly, Mac stared at her in the eyes for a moment before responding, "you're probably right, lead the way Davis."_

 _Jack looked between them, confusion written all over his face, but followed. He watched Mac stroll towards the exit, open and close the door as Riley took off silently, trying to get a better advantage point. Jack was quickly on board as he took cover, gun posed and ready._

 _Mac waited behind the kitchen wall, as the man walked with the child in the living room, one hand gripped around the hood of her jacket and the other limply held a gun._

 _After a beat, he dropped her hood; the team flew into action. Mac threw a small can of beans that suddenly exploded into smoke, distracting the man for Jack to jumped out and tackle him. Riley swooped in and picked up the girl, carrying her out of the room and away from the chaos._

 _They all watched the family reunite, the long nights finally worth it. Mac bumped his shoulder against hers lightly, "quick thinking there Riles," he said with a wink._

* * *

The whole scene was quickly wrapped up in a few seconds, but the memory always stood out in her mind.

Mac and Riley both sat in an eerily empty war room. Mac was playing with a paper clip between his fingers, while he strolled around the room casually, completely content in the silence.

She always expected him to enjoy noise; to thrive for the moments that are filled with the loud chatter of people or adrenaline. The comforting presence of his silence, continued to surprise her.

An agent marched into the war room, his leather shoes squeaking against the tiled floor. Gently, he pushed an invisible strand of greasy hair back into place and without looking at either Mac or Riley, he stopped suddenly in the middle of the room. Glancing a peak at Mac out of the corner of her eye, she watched as he crossed his arms and waited patiently for the man to speak.

Riley was never the patient type.

"Whatcha' got there?" she asked him, referencing to the two files in his hands.

The agent didn't say anything, he simply checked the watch on his wrist before taking a pen out of suit pocket, and scribbling a note down on one of the files.

They waited 3 minutes in silence and Riley was just about to get up and exit the awkwardness, before Maddy entered the room.

"Oh, I was about to call you all but I see you're all here, Mac, Riley, this is Agent Thomas Ashby. He was involved with investigating this case from the beginning and is here to fill us in on the details and urgency of this mission," Maddy informed them.

Jack strolled in with Bozer behind them, neither of them making a sound, knowing Matty was in 'Boss Mode'.

"Before we begin, I'd like to put in a request to switch Ms. Davis here with Agent Crosby. With the technological skills to match Ms. Davis' and Crosby's worked numerous undercover operations in Europe, and would be much more… suited to the role," Ashby said, his words clipped and professional, as he looked Riley from head to toe; taking in her scruffy boots and relaxed t-shirt. Riley felt as if she'd been slapped in the face, taking a step towards Ashby ready to take him on, she hadn't need to as both Mac and Maddy beat her to it.

Jack outright laughed at the absurdity of the agent's words, and Mac scoffed before saying, "if you think I'm doing this without Riley you're mistaken. I don't need to know the details of the mission to know that there's no one I trust more in the field," Mac said wanting to leave no room for discussion.

"I agree with MacGyver. Riley has proven herself beyond any measures devised. For this mission to be a success, trusting each other's instincts is vital," Maddy stated, her face completely blank with professionalism as she regarded Ashby.

"Very well," he sniffed and continued, "Before we continue, all of this is completely confidential and on a need-to-know basis. You will not discuss this mission with anyone outside this room. We also have an undercover agent in the field as we speak." Ashby stated, he looked between everyone in the room as if debating with himself who would slip up first.

"Care to fill us in on who this agent is?" Jack asked with an edge to his voice.

"That's classified information, we should little to no interaction with them," Ashby warned, his mouth tight as he spoke, unable to open fully as if to keep himself from divulging any secrets. "Three girls in the past two years, all between the ages of thirteen to sixteen, have disappeared. What's more concerning is they were all living in the same neighborhood. Teresa Halliway, only child, aged fifteen, lived in this apartment building along with her parents," Ashby showed a picture of a young girl with blonde curls Riley envied, and a sleek and modern building on the screen. "Six months later, Laura Simmons was filed as a missing person, she was sixteen and lived in the building across the road from Teresa," he continued, a freckled girl with dark green eyes flashed on the screen. Her eye liner was thick and smeared neatly over her eyelids, reducing the doe eyed look to make her look a lot older. Her red hair hung limply by her shoulders as she held the phone at an angle and smiled widely at the lens.

"Was?" Riley asked, her stomach already heavy with the answer.

Ashby typed a few letters into his laptop before a video popped up on the screen. The grainy black and white footage was difficult to see through, but the time stamp and date indicated last week at quarter past three in the morning. A person walked into the frame, a hood over their head, and their head facing the ground; they sat slowly on the bench.

Ashby had to fast forward until five in the morning, the person hadn't moved during the space in time. Riley watched at the person edged forward, raising from their position slightly. The shadowed figure then paused and sat back down. Not even ten seconds later, they raised more urgently before the screen erupted into images of flames and flying gravel.

"Remains of the detonated bomb confirmed that person to have been Laura Simmons," Ashby said, his tone showing no emotion as he relayed the news.

"That's awful," Bozer whispered quietly, as they watched smoke build on the screen.

MacGyver shifted his weight between each foot, staring down at his shoes before asking, "Laura and Teresa, you said they lived across the street from one another. Were they friends?"

Ashby eyes didn't leave the screen as he answered, "it's quite a big street Mr. MacGyver, they're quite a few apartment buildings along this road. The girls went to the same school, but when we interviewed their parents; neither of the girls knew each other."

"I find that hard to believe, nowadays; everyone knows everyone," Riley chimed him but only earned an exhale from Ashby.

"You said three girls?" Jack asked, rubbing hands roughly across his face.

"Harriet Warbler, thirteen. The morning after Laura Simmons was killed, Harriet went missing."

"And we're sure all three girls are connected?" Mac asked him, his eyebrow slightly raised as he went through the facts in his mind, twisting a paper clip between his fingers.

"We found written letters in each of their rooms. The letters are in the same code, and each of them have received ten. All a secret from their parents. After some time, we were able to translate some of Laura Simmons' letters. It seems to be a mix of a couple of languages."

Ashby showed images of the letters on the screen, Laura's name at this beginning of each letter, English words scrawled over a couple of symbols, while Ashby inserted digital words above the others to show the complete sentences.

"Some are poems, other are essays; most resolve around the idea of a prodigal son."

The note was full of rambling statements, mentioning a queen and declaring their love for her. Hatred poured into the end of the letter, describing the world as hell.

One in particular statement made Riley's hairs raise along her arms.

"Only heaven can be made when the world around us has been purified," Riley read out aloud.

"That statement was in all the letters," Ashby said. "There are also mentions of 'love arriving at your door to save you.'"

"Did the girls respond?" Maddy asked.

"We found an unsent letter in Harriet's room, no address on the envelope so there must've been a drop off point somewhere. We have people scanning security cameras as we speak for footage of all three girls. The unsent letter makes us believe that Harriet may have been taken in a hurry, maybe to replace Laura after her sudden death. There also has been no sighting of Teresa since her disappearance six months ago," Ashby told them, Riley could see the hidden tiredness behind his facade as he stroked his temple lightly. An unusual gesture, that he would repeat every now and then.

Agent Ashby wasn't a particularly good lucking man, the tip of his nose had a very crow like feature, slightly pointing down towards the end. Small teeth and nonexistent lips, and his personality didn't seem to help his case either.

"Explain again why I'm sending in two of my best agents?" Maddy asked him as she tipped her chin up, preparing herself for a debate.

"Two of the girls lived in the same building, another lived across the road. Their parents haven't heard a word but we feel they know more. Not only that, but none of the neighbors have wanted to talk. They could be scared to say Anthony and we need to find out who has been doing the scaring.

"We believe one of the girls could be carrying around a bomb as we speak, and someone in that building knows something. If we had someone on the inside that could track suspicious movements, we could save those girls from making a huge mistake. There's also another family in one of the buildings that matches the description; a girl aged fifteen, she's also an only child. If we send in a nice young couple, it would seem less suspicious and maybe we could gather more intel."

Riley let the information sink in, there was no set finish date and it seemed like a lot of work to befriend everyone enough for them to spill their secrets.

"Of course we understand how valuable Agent MacGyver here is to your agency-" Ashby continued, gesturing towards a frowning Max.

"And Agent Davis," Mac interrupted.

"Yes of course. We feel it fit if there was a mission, one could leave for that mission. The other would stay and continue with mostly surveillance work. As long as the mission wasn't past three days. A work trip is explainable, anything beyond that; would be doubtful."

The room was quiet for a moment, before Riley piped up, "don't we need a handler?"

"Every Saturday morning and Wednesday night, there's a running group on in the park close to the apartment, one of you can go to meet Jack or Bozer. If you fail to show at one, we can presume reasonable doubt but you must find a way to contact us within 12 hours after the meeting time," Maddy filled them in on the protocol set up specifically for this mission.

"So, in conclusion, our theory is that there is a person, or multiple people who have been manipulating these girls to leave their home, and to join whatever crusade to change the world is happening. If those two girls are alive, we need to find them. You were both chosen for this mission because of your specialized skill set. Mac, you have the bomb expertise needed in case of another event and Riley your advanced technology skills will be required to go through everyone in the buildings computers. It also helps that you'll be a young couple who won't be causing any drama or drawing too much attention to them."

Maddy sent them a glare as she finished her speech, ensuring they understand to stay as under the radar at possible, "Right now, I need you both to get some photos done in analytics. I'll fill Jack and Bozer in on the handling security details while you're gone."

* * *

"One more with your arm around her Mac," the photographer called. Mac flung his arm around Riley playfully, as she threw her head back against Mac's chest and groaned. The noise seemed to be building for the past hour of wedding photos, Christmas cards and now the dreaded; honey moon pictures.

"Come on Lucile, surely we have enough now?" she asked the photographer, as he waited behind the camera a tripod. Her patience was wearing thin and her cheeks were beginning to ache from the sickening smiles. "No normal couple would have _this_ _many_ photos of them, it would be weird! We need photos with old college roommates, with dear-old-Aunt Bertha, childhood photographs where we graduate kindergarten."

Mac barked with unexpected laughter as he looked down at his scowling friend, "dear-old-aunt Bertha?" he asked her, trying to contain any more giddiness from escaping him.

"Marshall and Riley Williams definitely have an Aunt Bertha. She would pinch your cheeks and criticize my cooking. And would be on _your_ side of the family," she filled him in, feeling slightly less ridiculous in their matching Hawaiian shirts as when she heard Mac's laughter fill the room once more.

"Our very skilled tech gurus will photo-shop all the relative necessary photos okay? I think the last few are as good as I'm going to get. Just wait there for a few minutes while I develop these," Lucile said as he flicked through the photos on his camera.

Jew a few minutes became just a few hours, resulting in Riley in Mac sitting on the floor of the make shift photography studio, waiting for someone to tell them they go leave.

Of course, that didn't stop Riley from sneaking up to the canteen and smuggling in two tubs of ice cream.

Jack would always complain about their flavor choices. Riley loved mint chocolate chip, and Mac loved Mango; which was always a difficult one to find. One of the women working in the kitchen upstairs had a soft spot for Mac, so she always had a stash of mango ice-cream in the freezer for him.

"So why do I get to keep my name, and you have to be called _Marshall_?" Riley asked him through frozen lips. The mint flavor was beginning to sting her teeth and she tasted more like tooth paste with every bite.

"Well Marshall can be shorted to Mac, that way it's easier for both of us and is less likely to cause us to slip up," he replied patiently.

Before she could respond, Mac's phone binging for the second time since they sat down. Opening her mouth to ask who has been trying to get through to him, Mac asked her the dreaded question.

"So why were Bozer and Billy ready to rip each other's head's off in the lobby this morning?"

Riley gulped, feeling the minty cream swirl around in her stomach, freezing her insides and helping the burning embarrassment that worked its way to her cheeks.

She could have told him the truth. That Bozer had an unrequited love for her, and Billy's mom made him break up with her; but none of it mattered. There was nothing there she wanted, so why even bother hashing the whole thing up?

Riley shrugged a response, "guess they both thought they had good intentions."

Mac's phone binged once more, causing him to sigh and turn his phone of quickly.

"Is it your dad?" Riley asked him, referencing to the multiple messages, all which Mac ignored.

"I only see him once a week, we don't really talk other than that," he told her, "which is… fine I guess. I'll have to tell him I'll be gone for a while."

Riley watched as his face turned solemn, thinking about his unsteady relationship.

"Want some minty goodness?" she asked him, waving the little tub it in front of his face, trying to lighten his mood.

"Riley Davis are you trying to pawn off the rest of your food on me?" he teased her, watched as her smile turned sheepish.

"Actually, I was wondering if you were up for a trade," she confessed, expecting him to decline.

To her surprise, he gently took the container from her hand and replaced it with his own with a laugh, "guess I'm going to have to learn to compromise."

Gleefully she shoved a spoonful of mango ice-cream in her mouth and hummed with happiness.

 _If this is what married is like, this mission could be fun._


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing

Thank you to everyone who has been so kind with reviews, follows and favourites!

* * *

 _Part 2_

* * *

Jack packed another scarf in her already over flowing suitcase. He attempted it to hide it beneath the t-shirts and jumpers she had stuffed in.

"Come on Jack I'm not going to Antarctica," she scolded him while she unpacked the third scarf he had tried to smuggle within her belongings.

"There's nothing wrong with being prepared. What if the apartment doesn't have heating? I can't imagine Ashby caring too much if your house is warm," he replied as he picked the scarf of her bed and lay it next to her suitcase. To Riley's horror, he unwrapped the striped scarf only to uncover a small handgun.

"Jack what the hell?!" she questioned, feeling her eyes widen as he watched him hid the scarf within her bag once more.

"You can never be too careful Riles," he warned her, not saying much but the serious tone within his voice spoke wonders.

"This is just a data collecting mission, mingling and gathering information. If I even break a sweat I'll be surprised," she tried to ease his worrying mind. She knew he would prefer to be by their side at all times.

 _But how dangerous could this be?_ Mac could be pulled in on different missions along the way, clearly their concern for her safety wasn't in jeopardy.

"You and Mac aren't even going to be able to stay together sometimes," Jack pointed out, as if reading her mind, "I have no doubt you can handle yourself, there's nothing wrong with being prepared for the unexpected."

Feeling a smile pull at her lips as she watched him fuss over what jacket she would bring, "just admit it old man, you're going to miss us," she teased as he rolled his eyes .

"Please… now that you and chatterbox will be gone, I'll finally be able to watch all my T.V shows in peace," he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in an exaggerated, joyous gesture.

"Hold on a minute, you're the one always yelling at the T.V when the interns don't respect Dr. Grey."

"She's a legend who deserves happiness."

"And you're deeply in love with her."

"Who isn't?"

"Touché."

Jack folded his arms, looking over at Riley. He could feel a growing anxiety as he watched the woman he knew as a child pack for a mission he couldn't protect her on.

"Remember Riles if someone approaches you by surprise- " Jack started his lecture, his voice stern as he began, but Riley could hear the underlying worry.

"I've got this Jack," she interrupted him, her voice strong as she walked towards him. Gripping him in a tight hug, she waited for him to return the gesture before she continued, "I promise, we'll be fine."

"You can't promise that," Jack said as he rested his check on the top of her head.

"You're right," pulling back from him so she could look him in the eye, "but I can promise that I will do my best to keep Mac safe."

"Hey, you better listen to me, Mac wouldn't want you risking anything-"

"Mac's the genius here-"

"You're just as valuable. I need you to understand that," Jack told her, gripping onto her shoulders.

Riley could feel her self-esteem issues rush around her brain as they tackled Jacks words with cynicism.

"Sure Jack, now are you going to help me pack or try and give me an ego?" She replied jokingly, trying to lighten the mood in the now heavy room.

Holding onto her shoulders for another moment, contemplating whether he should emphasis the point once more before letting go.

"Do you want to see how many knives I've hidden in your socks?"

* * *

Riley only half listened to the man showing them around the half-furnished apartment. She couldn't concentrate on dishwasher, master bedroom or Victorian style bath that took up most of the restroom.

The balcony was the only thing on her mind.

It looked over the park with children's swing sets and neatly kept flower beds. The only flaw in the entire area was the large patch of burnt grass and blackened gravel where Laura Simmons had been blown up.

Riley and Mac's new Home was in perfect view of the scene.

Her eyes were glued to the space of Laura's last moments, when a young woman halted a few feet away from the bouquets of flowers and cards laid carefully on the ground - doing nothing but depressing the scene even more.

In the background, she could vaguely hear Mac questioning the estate agent about a back-up generator, all Riley could see was the young woman who stayed by upsetting scene.

Kneeling with nothing in her arms, she bowed her head and waited. The heavens seemed to open at the sight of the girl, as the sky filled with a soft mist - making it difficult to make out any defining feature of the young woman.

Riley couldn't figure out why she was so transfixed on the scene, but something in her gut told her it was important, unusual even, how long the girl was there.

Pushing stray dark hairs underneath her hood, she looked up at the sky and allowed the rain to soak into her skin. Reaching into her pack back, she took out 2 canisters, and left it in front of the small framed photo of Laura. She drank from one, and left the other open, completely oblivious from the curious on lookers and the deteriorating weather.

"Riles? Sweetheart?" Riley's name being called behind her, and the nickname almost caused her to jump from her own skin.

Twisting around swiftly, Riley locked eyes with her 'husband'

"We love it, don't we honey," Mac said, throwing his arm around Riley's narrow shoulders.

Humming in agreement, Riley attempted to look up at her doting significant other with love.

She probably just looked confused.

"Where do we sign?" she asked the estate agent sweetly. He threw his head back in a fake laugh, at this angle; Riley could see every filling pressed in his teeth.

"Just a couple of forms to fill out now little lady, I'll also show you the fire exit in the corridor," He placated her, his grey eyes sweeping over her form as he spoke.

Through gritted teeth she sent him a simply "great", and followed him out the door, Mac's arm still around her shoulders.

Walking out into the corridor, the jokes made by the ignorant estate agent wafted above Riley's head, as a woman gingerly walking towards them caught her attention.

Amir Hassen.

She was one of the suspect's Ashby included in their file. Multiple notes thourghout the file indicated herself and her family were a part of a more extremist side of their Islamic religion. Living with her husband and twin boys, the Hassen's had led a relatively peaceful life.

With arms wrapped around bags of groceries, Amir seemed the furthest thing from a threat as she made eye contact with Riley and smiled softly.

Not wanting push too hard, Mac sent her a gentle nod, a smile and a "morning".

She returned the gesture but kept walking to the end of the hall until she got to her door. Opening her home, Riley heard the warming music of cartoons and children's laughter.

Not wanting to make sudden judgements, Riley found it hard to believe Amir was involved in the disappearances and untimely deaths, as the woman didn't seem nervous of skittish in any way.

"I hope you were taking notes on out emergency procedure," the estate agent brayed with laughter in Riley direction, as she simply stared him down.

"I'm only joking with ya, don't worry; you're big strong man here will-" the man continued, but Riley interrupted him before he could say anything else.

"Great. So where are those papers we need to go through?,"Riley practically spat, exasperated with the misogynistic comments.

Hopefully not everyone in this building will be like him.

* * *

"Turn left up here, lover," Riley asserted, as they drove through the bustling streets attempting to find Marshall and Riley William's old apartment building. Mac crinkled his nose at the pet name.

"Worst one yet," he grumbled, Riley had been teasing him as soon as they left the apartment; throwing in as many terms of endearment as she could. His attitude towards each one caused Riley to bark with laughter.

"Hey, you're the one that started it... my dear, sweet Mac-y."

"I was trying to be an 'in love husband',"

"They're rare you know, we'd probably be less obvious if we were mean to each other," Riley retorted, her pessimistic attitude towards love seeped through her words.

Mac only laughed in response, "you don't believe in romance Riles?"

Riley only shook her head in response, before realizing they were nearly at their destination, she could change the subject swiftly.

"So, we're going to our 'old apartment' even though we've never actually been through the door, in case someone is following us?" Riley asked Mac skeptically.

"It's unlikely, but it's better to be safe. I think all of our bags are in that apartment as well," Mac responded, his words slow as he tried to read the faded street signs.

"So according to Maddys instructions, we wait at the apartment for 2 hours, then sneak out the fire escape and make our way back to Phoenix," Riley reminded him. Although he probably didn't need it, more a reassuring plan for herself than anyone. The anxiety was low when there was a plan in place.

Pulling up to a contemporary style building, Riley looked out the side mirror to see if a car slowed down or also pulled in.

"All clear," she informed Mac who turning off the engine, "do you have the keys?"

Rattling the keys as an answer, they both strolled in casually to their so called, 'old home'.

"Mac you have to see this," Riley called as she went through the boxes supplied by Phoenix.

She could hardly believe her luck.

In her hands was a photo of a gapped tooth, 5 year old with a graduation cap and a minute scroll.

Holding onto the item as if it was a long lost treasure, she turned it around slowly to show a curious Mac.

Lunging for the photo frame, Mac made a solid attempt at retrieving his kindergarten's graduation photo.

Except Riley was too quick.

Practically shrieking with delighted she dodged his attempt with a laugh and ran to the other side of the bare kitchen.

"Look at your little face!" She exclaimed while reached for her phone to take a shot with her phone, "and at what age did you stop being so cute?" She teased him, watching the him roll his cobalt blue eyes, identical to the ones in the photo.

The picture was crystal clear, freckles dotted around his nose, as it had slightly crinkled with the extremity of his wide smile. With blue eyes just as bright as the ones now glaring at her, she could imagine his mother delighted to have the photo hanging for all her friends to see.

"Guess it went all downhill from there," he mused, watching her take in every aspect of the photo.

Snapping a picture with the camera on her phone, she handed the framed photo back to the rightful owner.

"I don't think the bad guys would take you seriously if you were still missing one of your front teeth," Riley concluded.

A realization dawned on Mac as held his childhood photo in his hands. Rushing towards the stack of boxes the Phoneix had dropped over, he began digging through the photos they were required to frame and hang around their new apartment.

"You won't find anything as good," she told him, knowing he was searching for a photo to trump his embarrassing one.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Mac eyes glazed over with joy as he stared at the crinkled picture. Turning it over with a smile on his face, Riley took a second to take in happiness that had taken over his face, and the similarity between his face and the one in the photo

A mud covered child stared back at her. Holding up her hands to show that the slimy dirt was indeed from the top of her head to the rim of her wellingtons. Small white teeth peaked through, showcasing a carefree smile after an obvious fall in the wet field she was standing in.

The camera wasn't good enough to catch the droplets of mud falling from her curling black hair, or pick up on the mud that had somehow clogged her ears.

But Riley remembered.

It also didn't catch the moments after the photo was taken. Her cousin bringing her home, only to find her mother with a black eye and bruised jaw.

A surprising dart of pain hit Riley in the gut, as she stared at an oblivious photo of her younger self.

"That one can stay in the box," she told Mac without meeting his eye, satisfied she could keep her voice at the level and tone as it had been moments ago.

"We should probably start looking through our character files. I don't want to be asked what your allergic and have no clue," she told him, marching towards the couch and picking up the discarded files.

Plonking herself down on the couch, her stomach tied itself into a knot of anxious energy as she hoped Mac wouldn't asked her any questions.

"Strawberries," Mac replied as he dropped down onto the seat next to her.

Staring over at him in confusion before he elaborated, "I'm allergic to Strawberries."

Her mouth opened in shock, the question was asked as a joke, presuming she knew most things about Mac at this stage of their friendship, "how did I not know that?" She asked him.

Shrugging a response, "Strawberries were never involved with any mission."

"Did you ever have a reaction?"

"Yeah that's how they found out. I think I was about seven? I'm not sure, I don't remember much. I can tell you I was eating yogurt, then the next thing I know I'm in the back of an ambulance. Throat closed up, puffy face- you name the symptom, I had it," Mac recounted casually, as if it wasn't a near death experience.

Then again, they encounter those almost every day. No wonder he's so relaxed.

"Okay so keeping you far away from the fruit section of the grocery store," Riley mumbled, only partially jokingly.

Opening their files, Riley read about a software engineer who graduated at the age of twenty-two. Now she works from home for French sounded company, updating software and handling technical issues. A woman who has one older brother, both parents deceased and has been married for eighteen months. Having grown up in a small town in Ohio, she's far from home, resulting in no friends around her. A woman called Catherine seems to be her closest confidant, who's a high-school teacher, still working in the town she grew up in.

Having met her husband in college, there doesn't seem to be a long list of other people in her life.

Riley would have to learn the facts and anecdotes from this woman's childhood.

After all, for the foreseeable future, Riley _was_ this woman.

"I wouldn't meet you in the library," Mac told her, his head bowed towards the multiple pages as he scanned the information.

Amused, Riley looked up from her file, "why do you think that?" She asked him, now giving him her full attention.

They had spent the better part of an hour going through minute details of their personas and learning of their history. The sun was beginning to set, pushing an orange glow into room, highlighting the curl of steam from full coffee cups and twinkling dust from the unused furniture.

"Well I would have been studying. It doesn't make sense; the library isn't somewhere you meet people," Mac stated, now looking at Riley who was trying to contain her laughter.

"So when you were a horney twenty year old, you'd only eyes for science. Is that what your telling me?" Pulling her lips into a thin line, she held back her grin.

"I was really focussed."

Riley's laughter burst, filling the silence in the room and placing it with a giddy energy.

"Fine we'll think of something else later, right now; we need to get back to the Phoenix," She told him, the joyful tone still present in her voice. Lifting herself off the couch, she went searching through the boxes to look for what she had found earlier.

"How about a park," Mac asked her as he began looking at the blue prints for the building on his phone, searching for the fire exit Maddy had told them to look for.

"I'm not really feeling the Park as particularly romantic right now," she responded, unsure of what first meeting point would classify as perfect for the 'in love couple' they were supposed to be portraying.

"Gotcha'," she exclaimed, finally grasping onto the baseball-cap at the bottom of the box.

Reaching onto her tippy-toes, she pulled the red cap onto Mac's head.

"They'd spot you a mile away with that blonde mop of hair," Riley implies, grinning at the small tuffs of sandy hair that peaked underneath the cap.

Mac simply smirked down at her, as she roughly dragged her own hair into the cap onto her head.

Locking the door behind them, Mac lead the way to the fire escape, already looking forward to the meal Jack hinted he'd cook for them.

"Base-ball game?"

Riley's laughter was his answer.

* * *

The sun began to softly droop behind the mountains, lifting the sky with bright stars and darks backdrops. On Mac's patio, Riley has a perfect few of every thing around her.

The only noise coming from the dining room where guys were debating about some football game that she had no real interest in.

Riley pressed the warm cup to her lips, the liquid burning a path down her throat, reminding her how cold Winter nights were.

"One more drink and Jack's going to start packing to go with ye," Bozer said, as he walked up behind her.

Riley laughed in response, "that or he's going to try and learn smoke signals to contact us."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he trained a pigeon," Bozer deadpanned as a smile sneaked it's way through his facial features.

Riley chuckled again, before allowing the peaceful silence to drop around them.

"Riley I'm...," Bozer started, while he racked his brain to think of the right words. Tending up, Riley fear for a confession of feelings, or worse, love.

"I'm really sorry," he breathed, holding her eye contact to emphasis his point.

"I was confused, and I fell out of love with Leanne and didn't know why. So, I thought, maybe it's because... of you? I think I need time to sort my head out for a while," he finished, sadness tinting his voice.

Riley felt her gut coil up, _she didn't want to stop being friends with him._

"I get it, I'll see you Wednesdays or Sunday's at running group right?" Riley asked him, referencing to the under-cover meeting point.

"I think Jack's got the first couple weeks booked," Bozer replied, not quite looking at Riley in the eye.

"Well don't do anything stupid while we're gone okay?" She could feel a cold grip wrap around her heart, but continued to look out at the trees now cloaked in darkness.

"I'll get an eye on Jack," Bozer solmonly replied, shuffling back into the kitchen to meet the others.

Riley was about to respond until she realised he was gone.

She didn't know why it felt like she was the reason she'd just lost her friend.

Ready to go inside, she turned around only to be met with Mac. Hanging his head towards the phone in his heads, his high cheekbones highlighted by the glow of the screen.

Without noticing her, he read whatever was on his screen with intense focus, his eyes narrowing as he took in every word.

"Are you going to tell me who's being texting you nonstop or do I have to start guessing?" Riley asked Mac, his head farting up in surprise. Opening and closing his mouth like a gaping fish, his mind unable to make a decision.

"Just let your dad know you'll be away for a bit," Riley said simply, watching Mac shake his head in response.

 _Okay not the dad then_

"Is it a potential love interest?" Riley asked him, feeling her stomach drop a little. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she knew it might make the mission harder for him.

Folding his lips into a thin line, his blue eyes finally met hers, and Riley could almost hear is mind slow down.

"It's Nicki."

And that's when Riley's mind drew a blank.

* * *

Riley never liked unpacking.

To be completely honest, she didn't like packing either.

For about two years of her life, her mother would constantly pack all their things into one suitcase, and leave behind yet another rocky relationship, which was only built on the promise of "this is the last time."

The night would always be cold, dark or gloomy. Her mother's actions were always hectic as she bundled a young Riley into her arms, carting her things in one hand and throwing them haphazardly into the car. Strapping her into the front seat beside her, even though she couldn't quite see over the dashboard of the car.

She would often run back into the house, muttering about forgetting soemthing or one more thing. The more times she did it, the less obvious the became about stealing her ex's cash.

It took two years for her to settle down, to meet Jack.

And when that ended with her biological father in a rage and Jack leaving, Tiley was sure she would have to pack everything into the undersized suitcase stored under her bed.

But they didn't move. Sure, her mother was emotional. But the hushed conversation between Jack and Riley's mom forever remained in her mind. His plea to not run this time. Think of Riles. Stay, not for you, for her. With some miracle, she listened. And Riley didn't have to pack anymore, mainly because she was able to travel lightly now.

Which brought her to this moment staring at cardboard boxes. Riley didn't know what reason Mac hated unpacking, but neither of them made a move to reach to open the items. They still hadn't spoken about the whole _Nicki_ situation, after Mac insisted "later," when they got a call from Maddy asking them to come to the office.

They were exhausted.

They had been awake since four, going through the last few precautions at the Phoenix, moving all their boxes from one apartment to the other. Needing to be present in the building before 12, because they could run into Teresa's mother in the hallway.

And the Nicki situation?

Riley needed energy to tackle that subject.

The plan is, meet her as a 'chance encounter' and hopefully she'll mention the remeberance gathering happening in their home. Mac and Riley had received intel that Teresa's parents hold a gathering once every month since she'd gone missing. Everyone from the neighborhood goes, which will be the perfect place for the 'Williams' to be introduced.

Swinging her legs slightly, Riley was perched on the edge of their flawless kitchen counter holding a steaming cup between her cold hands. Hoping the coffee would electrify her insides and give her the energy to tackle the boxes.

From the looks of it Mac wasn't doing much better either.

Sipping his drink slowly, he was leaning against the cabinets, squinting his eyes slightly as he looked over the stack of neatly packed boxes.

"If we keep everything where it is, and if we use it and put it back in the box; that counts as unpacking right?" Mac asked her from the corner of his mouth, as if he was scheming for an assignment.

"And if we have people over... they'll probably wonder why we have our coffee mugs still in bubble wrap," Riley replied, delighted she wasn't the only one that despised packing.

"What people are you brining over?" Mac teased her while holding a sly smirk.

Riley simply laughed at the insinuation, "well let me warn you, i'm _not_ going to morph into the typical 1960's housewife, inviting over random neighbours and throwing dinner parties," she commented, hoping down from the counter top and began washing out her mug.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way Riles," Mac said grinning, but his serious tone warmed her stomach.

Riley simply shook her head, praying that the blush she could feel beginning to grow stayed at bay.

"Charmer," she scolded swatting his legs with the tea towel she was using to dry the mug.

Mac chuckled, dodging her half attempt at assault.

Out of the corner of her eye, she stole glances at him while drying the cup. The sun beamed happily through the window, and without the shelter from curtains, it caused Mac's blonde hair to glow like luminous fire. His skin was warm, tinged with orange heat, emphasising his dimples and causing his blue eyes to shine like sapphires.

Riley knew Mac was handsome. She wasn't blind.

She also knew how many agents and analysts had their eye on him. Five separate woman this month had asked her for his number or his relationship status. However, she couldn't blame them; not when the man is throwing out compliments and looking like he stepped off a cover for GQ.

Allowing the silence to settle around them once more, Riley need her curiosity and worry for Mac began building, and before she knew it, the words had fallen from her mouth before she had a chance to stop them.

"So… about Nicki?" Riley left an open question, hoping he would fill in all the details.

"And are you going to tell me why you were so upset after Bozer left the house last night?"

Riley clamped her lips shut, _he has me there._

"I'll tell you with wine?" Riley supplied.

"I'll take that deal," Mac agreed, while the anxiety began to soften in Riley's stomach.

A call from Maddy interrupted the peaceful scene, her name flashed up as 'Catherine' on Riley's phone.

"Hi Maddy, we've already swept the house for listening devices and cameras; we're safe right now," Riley answered, waiting for the screen to change from black to her boss' serious face.

"Bad news; Laura Simmons was found this morning. The explosive in her backpack went off around at seven-thirty. Unfortunately, not only did Laura die, a jogger was killed and a homeless man was seriously injured."

With those words, the peaceful scene quickly ended and the reality set it.

"Worse again, another girl went missing. Her family live two floors below you. She doesn't fit the usually bill having two brothers. Our guy must be getting desperate. The real kicker? She hasn't been seen last week, her parents aren't the ones who reported her disappearance."

Looking over at Mac, she could guess what he was thinking, _they need to get to know these parents a bit more._


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 _ **Thank you to everyone who has been commenting, favouriting and following this story: you're constant support means a lot!**_

* * *

 **Part 3**

* * *

A Knock at Riley's new apartment door surprised it more than it should have. The shock of another young girl sent a heavy stone to the bottom of her stomach.

Harriet Warbler.

She was only thirteen.

"I'll take this one," Mac said, squeezing her shoulder as he passed her to go open the door. Instantly grateful, Riley leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen and watched Mac march through the modest living room to their front door. For such a small apartment, it had may attractive features. The large balcony window in the living room faced east, so Riley is expecting some beautiful sun rises. As soon as you walk through the door, your eyes are glued to the sweet fire place, which is surrounded by a short two-person couch and an armchair smothered by an oversized pillow. The island in the kitchen causes it to appear too crowded, but the yellow walls and simple grey cabinets are endearing. The only bedroom in the house had a walk-in wardrobe and a large bay window also facing the park.

Mac had barely opened the door when a voice boomed through. Riley couldn't see the person from this angle, but the voice was loud and piercing.

"Hello, I heard you just moved in. My name is Regina Halliway, I just wanted to pop over to welcome you to the building," Regina said, as she stuck out her hand with force.

 _Halliway…_ Teresa's mother?

Riley had to shift her view slightly to get a better angle of Regina's face. The woman had a blunt bob that ran symmetrically along her jaw bone. Her top lip protruded slightly more than the bottom and her cheeks was soft and slightly puffy.

She seemed like a perfectly put together woman, but when examined more; the maroon lipstick only highlighted the cracks in her lips more. She was dangerously thin, her arms lacking any fat or muscle, Riley wondered how she had the energy to lift her arm up and knock. When she blinked, you can see the mascara smudged along her eyelid, and there's no hiding the rawness of her waterline.

The whole scenario struck Riley as odd.

Her child was still missing, and she was out welcoming people to the neighborhood.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Marshall Williams and my lovely wife..." Mac began introducing himself, turning slightly as if to look for Riley. She strolled over to them, pushing a sweet smile on her face as she greeted Regina.

"Riley Williams," she greeted, shaking Regina's outstretched hand softly then slipping her arm Mac's waist. The woman at the door didn't hide the fact that she looked them both from top to bottom, taking in Riley's sweat pants, baggy jumper and cartoon socks.

"Sorry I wasn't expecting anyone, we're just in the middle of unpacking," Riley laughed, gesturing to her clothes. She was surprisingly good at fake laughter.

Mac smiled dotingly down at her, his arm wrapped around her shoulder as he rubbed her arm calmingly.

 _We have this gig_ perfect, Riley thought as she smiled once more at Regina.

"Well you picked a good day to move in, tomorrow night is my turn to host a bit of a gathering, it's a remembrance of sorts," Regina spoke, her voice stuttered along the word remembrance.

"You're more than welcome to come, we have a resident's room near the lobby on the first floor. I believe it used to be two apartments, but the owner hollowed it out and turned it in to a lovely ballroom. Everyone will be arriving at 8. Black tie. Lovely to meet you both," she rushed her last words as her phone binged in her pocket. Swiftly turning, she marched down the hallway and left Mac and Riley gaping.

"That was..." Mac started.

"Weird." Riley supplied, leaning more heavily against Mac.

She really didn't want to put on a dress tomorrow night.

"Her child is missing, and she's throwing a party. If that doesn't scream guilty; I don't know what does," she added, neither of them moving from their position at the door.

"Yup, but we need evidence."

Mac looked down at Riley, never realizing exactly how short she was.

"I'll cook, if you unpack?" he suggested, hoping she'd take the deal.

Riley laughed, "nice try."

So, they compromised. Riley went and got pizza and Mac started unpacking.

She arrived back to the apartment building with a pizza balanced precariously on one hand as she dug around her pockets for her key with the other.

"I'll give you a hand, don't want you to drop precious cargo," a voice said behind her, reached around her, he unlocked the apartment door and waved her through.

Small, slender and a thick set of blonde curls laying haphazardly on the top of his head, this was Laura Simmon's cousin, Riley recognized him from the photos.

He started living with Laura and her parents two years ago, as he started going to a close by college. There wasn't much detail in his file, just one warning about a drunk and disorderly a few months back, the arresting officers letting him go as it was so close to his cousin going missing.

Thanking him as she tilted the box slightly going through the door, she could feel the pizza slip a centimeter and she hoped the cheese wasn't oily enough to move with it.

"Riley Williams. My husband and I just moved in upstairs, fourth floor," Riley introduced herself, sticking out one of her arms as the other held the pizza box once more.

Surprised and slightly awkward, he shook Riley's hand meekly, "Harry," he offered, not supplying any last name or indication of what floor he lived on.

The began walking upstairs, sneaking a quick glance down the corridor, Riley saw no indication of a large room to hold everyone in the building for an event.

"So, are you going to that thing tomorrow? Regina Halliway came 'round-" Riley began, hoping to get something out of this conversation.

"Ah Regina," Harry sarcastically reminisced, "she never takes a break does she?"

Riley waited for him to explain, but he simply let the statement dangle, watching her confusion.

"A break from…" Riley asked him, waiting for him to fill in the break.

"Living the _dream_ I guess. Enjoy your pizza." Harry took the door the leaded him to the second floor, but Riley knew he lived on the third with his aunt and uncle.

Walking through the front door, Mac had some pillows haphazardly thrown on the couch, photos lining the mantle-piece of the fire and from the noise in the kitchen, she presumed he was starting on the cutlery.

"Honey I'm home," Riley called quietly, she had the intention of shouting it out, but a voice in the kitchen caught her attention.

Completely unaware she'd strolled into the house, Mac was sorting the knives from the forks into compartments... while singing.

And not very well at that.

His voice was low and slightly gruff, but the music behind him seemed to be in a completely different key to what he was singing.

Mac hummed the words he didn't know, and somehow managed to miss every single note.

It was almost a relief to finally find something he wasn't good at.

"You're just full of hidden talents aren't you Mac?" Riley said, holding in her laughter as she placed the pizza on the counter top.

From an outsider, it was as if Mac hadn't moved a muscle, completely unfazed by her sudden appearance. But Riley knew better. She picked up on the rigidness of his back, the tick of his jaw and the miniscule inhale.

"I'll never live that down will I?" Mac asked her, a serious expression on his face.

Riley simply shook her head, still trying to stamp down on her giddiness.

"Don't tell Jack?" He inquired hopefully, walking towards the pizza and opening the box to sllow the steam to escape.

"I'm not promising anything, but another performance might sway my decision," she smirked, stealing the first slice and began eating, watching as Mac finally cracked a smile.

* * *

The warm air from the fire coated Riley like a fuzzy blanket, pulling her into a dozy mode as she watched it crack and spit along the wooden logs Mac continued to throw in.

A full stomach and an almost empty glass of wine wasn't helping her energy levels, as Riley was very close to succumbing to her exhaustion. Stretched on the couch, Riley fit along the length of the couch with her feet perched on the arm rest. Mac has his sock clad feet on the low table in front of the fire, as he sat very comfily in the armchair.

Riley hadn't felt this relaxed in weeks.

"If all missions were like this, I'd happily go to work every day," Mac spoke softly, a sleepy tone working its way into his voice. Riley huffed a laugh into her glass of wine as she had it prepared to take another sip, her breath causing the glass to fog up.

"You practically skip into work as it is," she joked, watching as Mac opened his mouth to retort but could only smile and wave her off.

The familiar _bing_ of Mac's phone sucked the gentle atmosphere out of the room, replacing it with a slightly suspenseful tone.

Mac; waiting for Riley to question the message.

And Riley; waiting to see if her would look at the message.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Riley asked him, preferring to be honest instead of beating around the bush.

Exhaling, Mac swirled the rest if the wine in his glass, watching the marron liquid lick the glass as it moved.

"It was out of the blue, she asked how I was and I didn't respond at first," Mac started, his eyes meeting Riley's as he explained. He seemed worried, and with a twinge of sadness, as if he'd prefer if this situation wasn't happening.

"Then she explained what happened, how it was her job and she never expected to fall in love with me. She said it was real. And I guess… it was comforting to know it wasn't always fake. So, I responded said I was fine and glad to know she was okay. Since then… she's been messaging me random things, memories of when we were together or wishing things were different," Mac gulped. "And it's been… I don't know. I know I don't want to be with her. I know… I don't want to be the person I was when I was with her."

Mac scrubbed his hands over his face, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. Riley waited for him to continue, she sat forward on the edge of her seat reaching over and squeezing his knee.

God, she wanted to knock Nicki out so bad.

"You don't deserve this. Digging up the past… it's not good for anyone," Riley sighed, wanting to erase any sad emotion in his mind.

"It's not a big thing, just an annoying one," he said trying to lessen the impact.

"There you go again," Riley commented, Mac stared at her in confusion, waiting for her to explain, "trying to make me feel better about something you're going through. Mac, this is a horrible situation that you're in right now. Not many people have an ex-girlfriend who's a double agent… triple agent," Riley comforted him, sitting so far forward on her seat she was about to fall off.

"Did anyone ever tell you, you're a really good person Riles," Mac told her, his eyes shining from the light of the fire. Riley could feel a blush wrapping itself around her chest.

"I just hope Bozer realizes that sooner rather than later," Mac continued, watching Riley exhale loudly and flop back against the couch once more.

"Such a smooth transition of conversations there," Riley laughed, throwing her hands up as an exaggerated gesture.

Mac simply shrugged, waiting for her to explain the last few days in her own words instead of his own observations.

"Bozer is… Bozer had a hard time. I had a hard time. Okay I'll just start from the beginning," Riley fumbled her words for a moment, but then decided to fill him in on all the gory details. Explaining the pain she felt when she discovered Mama Colton's powerful influence on her relationship. She told him about drinking with Bozer and him making a move.

"Hold on, he tried to _kiss_ you?" Mac asked her, his eyes wide with an emotion Riley couldn't quite put her finger on.

"What? Is that so hard to believe?" Riley asked, for a moment she was insulted, but the way Mac tried to correct himself was too hilarious to not make fun.

"You know, I was once told I was the prettiest girl in kindergarten," she informed him jokingly, watching as he rolled his eyes but apologized all the same.

"I'm sorry, I don't doubt that for a moment. I was just caught off guard," Mac explained.

"So anyway, after all that when Bozer broke up with Leanne, and then that whole weird scenario with Bozer and Billy…. And then Bozer," Riley stopped, a lump catching in her throat.

She lost her words for a moment.

And when she found them… she didn't want to say them.

With a watery gaze she finally made eye contact with Mac. Exhaling softly he moved from his arm chair to sit next to her.

"He said he couldn't be my friend. That it was on _him_ , and he needed time but… why do I feel like I've messed _everything_ up again?" she whispered, not expecting Mac to answer but feeling a relief that it was no longer stuck to her chest and it was released out to the world.

Following his instinct, Mac wrapped his arm around Riley's slender shoulders, "I can promise you, this is not your fault. Give Boze time, he can be… _dramatic_ with these things," Mac smirked towards the end of his speech, watching Riley's mouth quirk upwards.

"That' an understatement," she snorted. "Who knew I could cause all this drama?" Riley asked Mac, her voice started to shake with laughter.

And for some reason, they both found that to be hilarious.

Mac had thrown his head back in laughter, and the tears that were previously held back from sadness, sprinted down the sides of Riley's cheeks with unfiltered joy.

Exhausted, Riley brought her feet under her, curling slightly into a small ball and refusing to move beneath the warmth of Mac's arm.

The heat of the fire smoothing over her, and the comfortable position she was in, caused her to close her eyes and start to dose. She could vaguely hear the television being turned down low, so everyone on Brooklyn Nine Nine sounded as if they were whispering.

And then… peaceful darkness.

* * *

Riley's feet pounded against the paved gravel, her heart rate slightly increased; but not racing. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck as she jogged past a tree with a scuffed black plaque and miniscule gold writing.

She didn't mind jogging as a form of exercise, she quite enjoyed it at times.

As a kid, her mother used to say she had too much energy and would make her do laps of whatever hallway or bungalow they lived in at that time. She would run until her legs collapsed beneath her, just to fill the time of her silent house.

As a teenager, her school councilor said she had anxiety. The woman was young, with blonde hair tipping her shoulders and a large mole under her left eye cozied next to her nose. 'Too much adrenaline', she explained, and prescribed her to go running in the morning or evening to work it off.

To Riley's surprise, the feeling improved.

Waking up this morning in a bed she didn't recognized and a house she was only beginning to get to know brought back that familiar anxious stab in the pit of her stomach, wrapping itself around the bones of her arms and tightening her throat. She knew she needed to get out of the apartment, she found Mac as she passed through the living room.

Stretched awkwardly on the two-person couch, he had needed to push the arm chair to the end of the couch so his long legs could rest there while his torso was twisted to suit this position. The pillow underneath his head was slipping from behind his head to the floor and the short blanket was mostly jumbled around his feet.

Instantly guilty for the luxurious sleep in a bed that Mac actually put her in, she kneeled in front of him and slowly shook him awake.

Groggily his eye's cracked open, bloodshot from a bad sleep and cloudy from the unexpected awakening. Realizing who was kneeling in front of him, he cracked a smirk and a gruff, _mornin_ '.

"I'm up now, please go take a nap in an actually bed while I'm gone," Riley instructed while untying her laces so she could shove her foot inside the shoe. Mac yawned widely, slowly rising, knocking the pillow to the floor and shuffled to the bedroom.

Sitting on the edge of the couch, Riley bent down to retie her laces. The sound of the bed cracking under a sudden weight, indicated Mac flinging himself onto the bed.

Getting up to leave the apartment, she just about heard a, " _be careful Riles,"_ and a snore.

That brought her to this moment, jogging until she reached a destination she had no intention of aiming for.

Harriet's grave. A double grave.

Pictures of the young girl remained, with bouquets of flowers and letters in plastic folders to be protected from the rain. Some of Harriet and some of Laura.

Riley stood and waited. Allowing the situation to sink in.

Harriet was taken as soon as Laura was killed, now she was dead. Killed in the same spot as Laura.

They couldn't let another young girl die.

And Teresa Halliway was still missing.

 _Was she a part of this at all?_

She had the letters, so that automatically connected her to the kidnappers.

Something didn't sit right. And Riley couldn't even comprehend was state the mother was in. Either she was distancing herself do much from the situation she had forgotten, or she was extremely talented at hiding her feelings.

Lost in thought, Riley barely noticed Amir Hassen walking towards her.

"Excuse me, this might seem odd, but I think you may have just moved into my building?" Amir timidly asked her, her brown eyes scanning Riley's face to make sure she hadn't mistaken her for someone else.

Riley plastered on a smile before responding, "yes of course, you passed us in the corridor when we were with the landlord."

"He's a…," Amir started, describing the man but trailing off.

"A dick," Riley supplied, her tone light enough to play off as joking but also quite serious. Amir let out a surprised laugh.

"I'm Riley by the way," she said to her, sticking out her hand in a formal introduction.

"Amir," the woman said politely.

They chatted for a few minutes about aimless subjects; the weather, Riley's new apartment compared to her old one and her job.

"How long have you and Marshall been together?" Amir asked her while pushing the pram with her sleeping baby who hadn't stirred the entire time Riley had been talking.

"I met Mac three years ago now, and are just married for four months now," Riley supplied. A grey cloud loomed above them, and both women decided they should start walking home. Before leaving the grave yard, Riley spotted a familiar girl.

Hood pulled up, with her eyes trained on the ground, she walked towards Laura's memorial spot. Riley remembered her from the day they viewed the apartment for the first time. Whipping the same canister out of her backpack, Riley watched as she poured a liquid into one cup and reached into her bag to retrieve another.

Completely oblivious to everyone around her, the girl took out a book and began reading. Riley couldn't hear the words, but she watched as her lips moved.

Concluding a close relationship with Laura, Riley made a mental note to look into it later, and see if there was a way to make contact and find out if the girl knew anything.

Amir and Riley continued to chat, and the more Riley got to know Amir, the more she liked her. In the middle of telling Riley a story about her husband attempting to make sushi when she was interrupted by her phone ringing.

"It's my mother," she said with a sign, "this could take a while, she's coming to visit next week and her standards on our guest room are… not very achievable. It was so nice meeting you Riley, say hello to Mar… Mac for me," Amir finished, stumbling over Mac's name. Riley had told her he prefers the nickname and was glad to find Amir actually using it.

"Oh, speak of the devil!" Amir exclaimed, pointing at a figure behind Riley before finally answering the phone. Swaggering out of the building with a trash bag, Mac had one of his earphones in and let the other one hang loosely.

Amir sent Riley a wave while she began chatting to her mother. Riley turned and strolled towards Mac, knowing Amir was still watching them she knew she would have to put on a bit of a show.

Casually tossing the bag into the open bin as the muscles in his back moved to compensate for the action. Wolf whistling to get his attention, she watched as he turned with a raised eyebrow.

A smile grew on his face as he realized how had caught his attention, the dimples his cheeks on full display. Riley's steps sped up slightly as she could feel bubbles of energy in her stomach, when she had eye contact with Mac.

"Amir's watching," she murmured while loosely throwing her arms around his shoulders, and without missing a beat his large hands held her waist.

"Not the most romantic of scenes," Mac replied, dipping his head to meet her forehead. Riley could feel affection bubbling in her stomach as she felt herself draw closer to Mac.

This close, she could see flakes of green in his blue eyes that she never noticed before. The freckles that were so prominent in his photo as a child were faint along the bridge of his nose.

"Does it help that I'm really sweaty after my run? What if I say romantic things, like sunsets, dim lighting, cheap sushi and… Richard Gere?" she supplied sarcastically as she brushed her nose against his. She could smell his freshly washed skin, and felt the heat radiated off his skin.

"Richard Gere and cheap sushi?" Mac asked her, a deep husk within his voice while a slight laugh at her suggestions escaped him.

Drawing her heard back in shock so she could look him in the eye, "pretty woman!" she exclaimed, realizing that's all she could say as the circles Mac was drawing on her lower back were becoming increasingly distracting.

"I didn't take you for romantic comedy girl," Mac said while straightening to his full height, but keeping Riley within his grip.

"Say's the man that's a sucker for trashy reality TV."

Over her head, Mac scanned the background quickly, "how about we settle this with 'who can make the best omelet'?" Sending her a miniscule nod, Riley knew Amir had left.

"More like who can make an _edible_ omelet."

* * *

With intense concentration, Riley drew an elegant black line along her eyelid. She was practically an eyeliner expert at this stage and would often reminisce about her teen days when the thicker the line the better.

Sitting back in her chair for a moment, Riley blinked and assessed her work, ensuring both eyes were matching.

"Now are you done?" Mac asked from his position on the edge of the bed. With his suit on and his hair tidy, Mac had been ready to go for the past half hour, overestimating how quickly Riley could do her makeup.

Smirking in the mirror, Riley met his gaze, "nearly," she supplied for the fourth time.

"You already look great, what more needs to be done?," Mac offered, not understanding what else she needed to do. But Riley simply laughed and began searching for her red lipstick.

She didn't believe Mac, not feeling comfortable in her own skin. Maddy had a dress sent over for her, as Riley hadn't packed for a black tie event. She wasn't sure who picked out the dress but it was definitely expensive, she wasn't used to wearing such costly clothes. A simple black dress that clung her hips and a modest slit along her thigh, and Maddy had sent dangly diamond earrings but they were hidden from Riley's big curls she manufactured with the curling iron.

Smoothing the marron lipstick over her lips, she could feel Mac's gaze. Smacking her lips together, she caught his stare, "want some?" she asked him while smirking. He laughed hanging his head low, but Riley didn't miss the blush that worked his way to his cheeks.

Spraying on some perfume and smoothing down her hair, Riley was finally ready. Nervous butterflies took flight in her stomach at the thought of the party.

They had no idea what they were walking into.

Teresa Halliway had caught Mac in the hallway earlier asking him again if he was attending.

"You have your tracker?" Mac asked her. Riley nodded indicating to her earring, attached the tiny device to the back of her earring.

Swivelling around on the low stool to face Mac, Riley crossed her arms and exhaled, hoping the anxiety would die away.

"This isn't a trap is it? They haven't figured us out already, right? I swept the house for bugs and-" Riley began to spiral, her fears fallen out of her mouth like an unstoppable tsunami, and Mac interrupted it before it took over the rest of her thoughts.

"Riles," Mac softly said, leaning forward slightly, but not reaching out to her, "I get it. This is… a situation that the only people we'll be able to trust is each other. Yes, this could be a trap. But you checked up on this. You found photos from last months' event on Teresa's Facebook page," Mac reassured her.

Riley let the information sink in and took comfort in his words. Exhaling once more, before standing to her feet.

"Ready?" she asked Mac, placed out her hand as an invitation.

Mac smiled and took her small hand in his and squeezed, "Ready."


	5. Chapter 5

Happy Holidays! I hope everyone is having a lovely break.

I just wanted to thank everyone has been favouriting, following and reviewing this story, it has meant the world to me!

So without further ado, please enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

 **Part 4**

* * *

"Jack, can you please stop staring out the window? You're being a drama queen," Maddy told him for the third time that evening. His face was pulled into a frown, his eyebrows drawn together with arms crossed tightly against his chest.

"What do you expect me to _do_ Maddy? I have a bad feeling. And let's face it, I'm always right," Jack exclaimed dramatically, throwing his hands out in front of him.

Maddy cocked her head to the side to glare at him, crossing her own arms and taking a step forward.

"Jack when are you _ever_ right?" she asked him, one eyebrow raised to emphasis her point.

"… Sometimes okay… sometimes I'm right. Do you remember that time we ordered pizza-"

"Mac and Riley aren't pizza Jack," Maddy interrupted him, turning away and walking out of the war room. "Maybe try a hobby that isn't worrying about our people," she said leaving to go catch up on work Jack had dragged her out of; to explain his 'bad feeling'.

Throwing himself down onto the couch, Jack checked his watch as if it was to tell him something. He hated not knowing what was happening. Feeling as if they were in trouble and there was no wayb he could help them.

"I really need a hobby."

* * *

Riley gripped Mac's hand tighter as they entered the ballroom. From the outside, the door was plain white, with a small white card stuck to it. Gold writing scrawled across the paper with the words 'Teresa Halliway', 'Laura Simmons' and 'Harriet Warbler'.

A stone dropped against Riley's stomach as she read the words, gulping loudly before looking up at Mac. Holding a similar expression on his face, Mac sent a nod her way before opening the door.

Inside, Riley wasn't nearly expecting anything as extravagant as the lavish decorations in front of her.

Deep wooden floors held a shine from it's recent clean, contrasted greatly with the smooth cream walls where golden frames hung with art Riley couldn't understand but knew it was expensive.

Waiters held silver platers with tall flutes of sparkling liquid, while another one approached Riley from the side asking if she wanted to put away her coat.

"…I don't have a coat. I live upstairs," Riley confessed, instantly feeling confused as she stared at the waiter who simply nodded and walked away. Mac barely noticed the exchange, as he glanced around the room, clocking everyone's face into his memory.

The room was filled with bustling people. Riley hadn't needed to feel overdressed, most people wore extravagant ball gowns with matching over the top hairstyles and deep makeup. The women would titter with lady like giggles, holding a manicured hand close to their mouth to hide their teeth. Men would throw their head back in laughter, booming across the room to their friends as they spat out their conversations.

Scanning the room to see if she could spot Regina Halliway, Riley could make out some people she recognized from around the building, and some she had seen in the files Maddy had sent over.

Laura Simmon's father was surrounded by a group of people hanging on his every word. One woman, who wasn't his wife, was leaning closely to the hefty man, and didn't seem when he dropped his grubby hand to her backside and squeezed.

Harriet Warbler's mother stood in the corner away from most people. The plump woman wasn't dressed up as much as everyone else, her dreary clothes and limp haircut emphasized the morose look across her features. Grabbing the closest flute of champagne, she threw the entire continents back in one gulp before a slender man walked towards her.

With two long strides he was standing in front of her, with his back faced towards Riley, she couldn't make out any defining features. Whatever he had said to her, caused her to throw her head back in laughter. Linking her arm within his, she strolled away with him and Riley lost them in the crowed.

A burly built man in a dark suit strode towards the back of the room. Taking a stance next to a door slightly out of view, he stayed in that position as he stared around the room.

"Feels more like a celebration, than grieving families," Mac whispered, his nose brushing along her the edge ear as he dipped his head to speak privately.

Twisting her body, Riley curved in towards Mac. Laying a hand across his chest, she lifted herself up slightly, even in heels she wasn't eye level.

"Guy at the back, doesn't seem to fit in. Suspicious bulge in his left pocket," she murmured close to his ear. Her hands grazed his chest feeling his quickened heart beat underneath her fingertips, looking up at him beneath her eyelashes she watched as he scanned the room.

 _He must be nervous,_ she thought, realizing she never thought of him succumbing to his worries about a mission.

This could potentially be dangerous.

They don't have Jack and his quick reflexes, gun skills or quick wit.

And now there were potentially armed men in the room.

Tilting his chin down so he would meet her eyes, she sent him a quick wink hoping to lighten his heavy thoughts.

"Now let's go mingle."

* * *

Regina threw her head back in laughter, exposing her long neck and wiping non-existent tears, "oh Marshall you are a charmer." Long fingers wrapping around his bicep as she looked him from head to toe.

Riley had to hold back the urge to roll her eyes. She leaves Mac from two minutes alone and a gaggle of women surround him. Holding two flutes of champagne, she sighed as she watched a blonde woman slide up next to him.

"He's definitely a hit with Carla," Amir said from behind her. Her long-sleeved dress was classy and modest, while her short brown curls formed a halo around her head.

"Who's _Carla_?" Riley asked her, scanning the woman from a distance. One of Carla's blonde waves were currently wrapped around her finger as she leaned towards Mac with her chest pushed out as far as it would go. Riley could see Mac was in the middle of a story, his head was tilted slightly to the side as his hand gestured gently.

"She's George Hathaway's new girlfriend. He lives on the second floor, he used to live on the sixth floor but moved when the elevator broke. More specifically, he moved because of his age," Amir whispered, hiding slightly behind her drink. Her mouth was quirked up at the side as she watched Riley's frustration.

"Clearly George Hathaway has more problems than having to climb a couple of stairs," Riley sarcastically said, as she watched Carla place one of her perfectly manicured hand on Mac's shoulder. Smoothing down her red before throwing her head back and cackling, displaying all her white teeth.

Amir couldn't help her laughter at Riley's expense, "I don't think you've anything to worry about. He only has eyes for you. I didn't take you for the jealous type."

Riley rolled her eyes and laughed, hoping the blush that was forming around her cheeks would be hidden by her makeup.

"I'm not _jealous,_ I trust him. He's my husband. I just don't appreciate _that,_ " Riley pointed with a slight tilt of her empty glass just at the moment Carla ran a finger down the length of Mac's arm. Riley couldn't see his face, his broad shoulders facing away from her.

Maybe he liked her.

Which would be fine because they're friends, partners even.

She had no right to feel… annoyed.

She didn't really understand why she was so annoyed, Mac could be with Carla if he wanted.

 _They were only pretend married after all._ For some reason, a heavy sadness fell on top of Riley's shoulders.

He wasn't _hers._

"I'd say stake your claim," Amir murmured loudly, sending Riley a wink. "I had a run in with Carla the first time I met her, myself and Salman were just leaving for dinner, the babysitter had just arrived for the boys, all was going according to plan. Until that blonde leech introduced herself and blatantly flirted with Sal. Of course, he barely noticed, we fought all through the starter and while we waited for the main course," Amir threw her eyes up to heaven before taking another sip of her drink.

Riley didn't know what to do, but she knew she needed to remove herself from watching Carla pounce on Mac.

"I would, but I really need to run to the ladies," Riley replied, pushing a forced smile to her lips.

Stalking across the room, she headed for the door where the man stood guard. Something about the scenario seemed off, and she needed to take her mind off of… _Carla and Mac._

The tattooed man stood solomonly, his arms crossed tightly across his bulky chest. His bald head seemed entirely too small compared to the rest of his oversized body, as his own persona emitted _intimidation._

Scanning the area around him, there didn't seem to be any other movement. And he seemed to be the only one on guard.

Riley had always been impulsive.

She was calm in chaos, the ability to form quick plans in her mind miliseconds before she had to have them completed.

It was an impressive trait to have, but also one that was required in this line of business.

Striding towards the man, something caught her attention.

 _Someone_ caught her attention.

It was a face she had seen near Laura and Harriet's crime scene. Chewing her lips furiously, the girl's eyes squinted as she scanned the crowed before finally landing on her target. Her dark hair was pulled back in an underdone pony tail, and her outfit was very much understated, as she had opted for jeans and a hoodie, seemingly unfazed by the disgusted look Harriet Warbler's mother was sending her as she strode past.

Riley wondered who she was looking for until finally she halted abruptly in front of none other than Laura's Simmon's cousin; Harry.

With his eyes glued to the phone in his hands, he barely acknowledged her prescence, but Riley knew he had seen her from the slightly change in body posture. His feet shuffled as he transferred weight from the left to the right foot, he sniffled his nose to hide the sharp inhale he had taken when she landed in her spot.

He was _nervous._

Moving towards them, Riley watched as the girl began speaking, her lips moving quickly and her hands were held in a tight fist. Harry feigned a nonchalant attitude as he took in her appearance, simply waiting until her rant was over.

Remaining in the shadows, Riley was now close enough to her the sharp whisper spat from the girl's mouth but unable to make out any of the words.

Suddenly the girl was finished, her arms crossed tightly over her chest to signify her ending. Riley moved forward, hoping to hear Harry's reply.

"Nice story, but can you prove it," he confidently said, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear and lingered, before moving away and disappearing into the crowed.

The girl was frozen in place, her eyes glassy as she watched Harry saunter away.

Riley was moving towards her before she even realized it. She stood next to her for a moment before saying, "boys are assholes."

"Understatement of the year," the girl whispered, her voice cracking along each word. Roughly wiping her nose with her sleeve, she began to walk away.

"It gets easier," Riley told her, watching as the girl stopped moving. Twisting slowly in her spot, she turned to face Riley, the tears had now disappeared, red splotched dotting her pale cheeks to symbolize her previous emotion. But her eyes had turned a stony grey, and her lips were closed in a thin line.

"This won't. Thanks for the support though," she sarcastically said, sending Riley an obvious fake smile and marching away.

Disappointed with the interaction, Riley lifted a small desert from one of the waiter's platter and plopped it into her mouth. Sweetness erupted in her mouth, and a thought sprung to her mind that made her steps stutter.

 _Strawberries._

Tapping one of the waiters on the shoulder to catch their attention, Riley waited for the bored waiter to turn around.

"Do me a favor, that man over there," Riley began, pointing at MacGyver who was now alone with Carla who was practically licking her lips. She pushed one of the sleek curls to expose her bare shoulder, jutting out her hip and giggled at whatever Mac had just said. Tapping his chest lightly with one of her claws, she waited patiently for Mac to reciprocate.

Riley gulped back her nausea and continued, "he's very allergic to strawberries so don't let him eat those things," pointing out the perfectly circularly, pink cakes.

Rethinking that decision after Mac's horror story to the hospital when he was seven, Riley changed her mind, "actually, don't let him eat anything okay? There might be cross contamination in the kitchen or something."

"And how do you know this?" The waiter asked her who was currently chewing loudly on a piece of gum. Riley simply held up her left hand, wiggling her ring finger as the diamond caught in the light.

The waiter halted his chomping, his eyebrows raised as he looked over at the two. He sent Riley a sad look and walked away, hopefully to tell the other waiters not to give Mac food he was deathly allergic to.

"Why on Earth is such a beautiful woman, standing here all alone?" a voice said from behind her.

Smoothing down her black dress, Riley turned to face the unknown man. Towering above Riley, his brown eyes took in her appearance, barely hiding the way he scanned her curves.

A pretty boy.

Dark hair carefully constructed to highlight his chiseled jaw, the only flaw was the bump along the bridge of his nose.

"I didn't know standing here alone such a crime?" Riley bounced back, keeping her face neutral as she tried to remind herself what person he was.

Knowing he was in one of the files, she wracked her brain trying to remind herself as the man standing in front of her chuckled, licked his lips and smiled.

"No woman who looks like you should ever be alone," his tone infected with flirtatious energy as he waited for her to swoon and introduce herself.

"Who would want company all the time?" Riley asked him, holding her own.

"Daniel Simmons," he informed her, taking a step towards her with sly grin, "and if I had the chance, I don't think I'd ever leave your side."

Riley laughed at his forward nature, but took his hand and shook it, introducing herself quickly. When suddenly everything clicked.

Daniel Simmons; the first victim's uncle.

Bachelor, wealthy, and doesn't live in this building.

Pushing her hair back with her left hand, hoping he would see the ring on her finger. Yet somehow, he didn't see it or simply didn't care. They chatted nonchallantely for a while, bouncing from different topics allowing the air of the conversation to remain light.

Out of the corner of her eye Riley watched Carla trying to drag Mac out to dance. Shaking his head vigorously as he attempted to stay put, Carla wiggled her hips and pulled at his arm as the music picked up it's pace.

Riley pushed that niggling feeling to the back of her mind as Mac scanned the crowed, his feet shuffling slightly forward as Carla's insistent pull.

Finally turning around fully, Mac found Riley in the crowd. His shoulders sagging slightly in relief as he caught her eye. Without looking at Carla, he bid a quick goodbye and made his way over to Riley.

Riley could feel her heart speed up slightly as Mac took strides towards her.

 _This isn't good,_ she told herself as she berated her rogue feelings. What the hell was happening her.

 _This isn't real,_ she reminded herself as Mac smiled broadly.

Stopping in front of her, he looked down and took her small hand within his, "where've you been hiding?" he asked her.

"Chatting with Daniel Simmons," Riley told him, turning to face a now serious faced Daniel. Mac's eyes darted to the man facing Riley. Standing slightly straighter, Mac remained in his position slightly behind her, but it was as if she could feel his prescence had grown stronger.

"Marshall Williams," Mac introduced himself, feeling no urge to shake the other man's hand.

"I was just about to invite-" Daniel began, pointing to Riley as his invitee.

"My wife," Mac interjected, his voice stern. Taking a step forward so his chest was aligned with her back, there was barely any space between them.

"And yourself of course, over to my apartment for dinner some evening. It's so difficult to find nice company nowadays. And I'm sure my _girlfriend_ would also enjoy the night," Daniel said, the sly smirk never leaving his face but his hands were held up, his palms facing them as if he was reigning innoncence.

"Your _wife_ has my number," Daniel added before sending Riley a wink and striding away.

"I really don't like that guy," Mac exhaled roughly, not even bothering to lower his voice as Daniel walked away. Twisting in her spot to get a better look at Mac, realizing this was a side she hadn't experienced yet.

" _What?_ I couldn't tell in the slightest," she responded sarcastically, laughing to herself as Mac barely took his glaring gaze away from the arrogant man.

Maybe some part of her enjoyed Mac's possessive streak. The thought caused a blush to creep along her chest.

"Other than _him_ , meet anyone else?"

"Amir and I found the free wine, and I was doing a bit of _sleuthing,_ " she commented, looking down at her feet. The shoes Maddy had sent over were so shiny, she could almost see her reflection.

 _Was she shy now?_

Feeling suddenly ridiculous, she had never been _shy._

Mashing her feelings into a small ball, she concluded right there as she moved her eyes to a _very handsome_ Mac and then she had some weird form of Stockholm syndrome and it would pass.

"How about we go for dance and you can tell me all about it Sherlock," Mac informed her, taking her hand gently and guiding her towards the dancefloor. And as if the universe was laughing at her, the music seemed to slow down.

Taking a deep breath, Riley reminded her why she was doing this.

This was a _job._ Nothing but a job.

They began to sway in time with the music which had a calming effect on everyone within range. It sent soft ripples through Riley's core as Mac softly moved them across the floor.

 _Stay_ _professional._

"Alright Holmes, what did you find out?" Mac asked her, his voice low but perfectly clear. The lighting low and golden, casting shadows across his face.

 _Too close,_ the words popping into her mind, as she could feel the air between their bodies shrinking with every waltzing step.

"Well, while Sherlock was out looking for clues, it seems Watson was flirting with all the pretty girls," the words slipping from her mouth before she even realized her brain was speaking. Her tone was light and only slightly accusing, but she couldn't help but laugh at Mac's wide eyes and spluttering sounds.

So much for professional.

"Carla was just being friendly."

"Oh, _that's_ what friendly looks like. I thought friendly meant smiling, hands to yourselves and keeping within a five-foot distance of each other," Riley innocently said. She didn't know what was coming over her, but her she was clearly on a roll. "But hey, maybe I don't have as good of friends as _Carla,_ " Riley finished, attempting to say Carla's name in a sultry tone in her mouth, re-enacting the way she introduced herself to Mac.

"Alright fine, but you're the one that disappeared," Mac justified, somehow moving closer to Riley as they moved. Riley could feel herself being lulled into what felt like a safe environment.

MacGyver always had that effect.

Whether he was standing right next to her, or even knowing he was in the same room; Riley had always felt a little more… calm and another feeling she could never express.

 _Safe._

"Laura Simmons has a friend that doesn't like her cousin Harry very much. And I don't even know where her uncle fits into all of this," Riley said quietly, trying to bring back her control to the situation. Mac's hand was warm on small of her back, as she couldn't help but drop her cheek against collarbone. He guided them in slow circles, every step in-time with the gentle beat of the piano's music.

"Did you catch her name?" Mac asked her, his voice husky as his warmth drew her closer.

"There's security cameras everywhere, I'll run her face through our system. She also visits Laura's scene every day. Did you find out anything from Regina?"

"She seems _off._ She's gone to get another drink, and… she's coming towards us right now," Mac sighed, and suddenly their bubble popped when Regina Halliway tapped Riley on the shoulder.

Holding back her glare, Riley twisted in Mac's arms to face the woman.

"May I steal a dance?" Regina asked Riley without even looking at her for more than a second. Her eyes trailing up Mac's torso until it eventually reached his face.

"Sure."

Riley's answer was short, afraid she would spit out an insult if she lengthened the words.

Turning once more towards Mac, Riley was between two minds. The urge to shove Regina's face in their relationship was strong.

Reaching up, Riley grazed her fingers lightly along Mac's jawline, his eyes trailing all over her face. She watched his eye dart to her lips, and she could feel her heartrate begin to race within her chest.

Pressing herself against his chest, she felt herself quickly become intoxicated with his proximity.

Mac brushed a rogue curl from her face with barest of touches, almost afraid she would break.

Her breath began to stutter as he leaned forward.

And… _this was a job._

Leaning forward, Riley pressed her lips against the corner of his mouth, having to pull herself back from lingering. Before she pulled away fully, she whispered in his ear, "find out what you can."

Returning the ground, she squeezed his hand. Riley couldn't distinguish the look on his face but she wondered if it matched her own, utterly awestruck.

Walking away was a lot harder than she thought it would be. Especially when she heard Regina's words, "well handsome, are you going to show me your best moves?"

 _This is a job._

Channeling her anger, Riley found her confidence and marched towards the tattooed man and the mystery door.

Swaying her hips as she walked, she grasped one of the champagne flutes and inhaled half of the bubbling liquid. Sending the man and lazy smile, she tried to feign a tipsy version of herself, loosening her joints and slowing her reflexes.

"This area is restricted," the man boomed, his voice vibrating through Riley's head.

"S'not a toilet?" Riley slurred gently, ensuring she didn't seem too intoxicated, but just enough to believe this man was only standing outside a restroom.

"Ma'am this area is restricted."

" _Oh la la Ma'am?_ Do I look like a Ma'am?" Riley asked him, her voice dropping and her eyes half closed as she leaned heavily against the door, her hand hovering over the handle.

"I won't repeat myself again- "

The man was suddenly interrupted. The door behind Riley was opened abruptly, causing her to stumble slightly but instantly regain her balance. Turning quickly to find out who opened the door she was faced with man who caused Riley to freeze.

A slender man with a tattoo of a snake along the side of his gaunt face, curling along his forward and tipping his jaw. It was the same snake that traced the other man's arm.

His eyes were blindingly grey, reminding Riley's of a wolf. But that wasn't what made Riley freeze.

Casually, he twirled a gun around one of his fingers, aggressively catching it in the palm of his hand when he realized Riley was standing at the door.

"And _who_ is this," the man drawled, his worlds slow as his eyes glazed over her. Straightening his back, he opened his arms out wide as if welcoming her to his presence, the silver gun shining under the light.

Riley was lost for words for a moment, before her brain flipped into gear, "one of the new tenants," she carefully said, holding her hand out pretending she didn't care about the weapon in his hand.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes. Everyone at these things are usually so… _unattractive,_ " the man whispered the last word loudly as he sauntered towards Riley, wrapping his hand around her waist roughly and leaning in to kiss her cheek. His cologne was overpowering, almost suffocating her as her heart began to pound painfully in her chest from fear.

But she held it in.

Forcing a giggle to her lips she smiled, as he leaned back but held his own hand to her hip, rubbing the satin fabric beneath his fingers.

"I'm sure everyone in this room would love to hear that," Riley responded, taking pride in her steady voice.

He boomed a laugh, displaying each pearly white tooth. Deciding to put the weapon away, he pushed it into a pocket on this inside of his suit jacket, while chuckling away to himself.

Suddenly Gripping her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he abruptly drew a halt to his laughter. Roughly he pulled her face upwards, running one of his fingers down the column of her neck until he reached her exposed collarbone.

"Pretty… little… girl," he whispered, punctuating each word with a tap along the bone. Riley gulped, feeling a nerve of fear run through her.

Releasing her face, he roughly grasped her arm, squeezing it tightly, "why were you outside my door?" he asked her, his voice calm and feigning innocence.

Inhaling sharply as he squeezed tightly, Riley tried to calm her nerves.

"I was looking for the restroom," she answered, her breath shaking as she exhaled.

"Don't lie to me little girl," stepping towards her, his breath coasting her face.

"And why would I lie?" Riley asked him, her anger beginning to bubble under the surface as his other hand dropped lower to her backside. Reminding herself to stay calm, the gun in his pocket still prominent in her mind.

Tilting his head, he smiled at the sound of a snarl in her voice, dragging her roughly towards him, his body ran the length of his.

"If only I had the time," he whispered, his head dropping to the side of her neck and inhaling sharply. He hummed.

And licked her neck.

Riley froze, a multitude of possibilities running through her mind, as the anger now fueled with fear.

"Maybe after my meeting _little girl_ ," he snarled, his voice crawling like spiders in her ear. Over her head, he signaled to the other man with a quick nod of his head. Staying close to Riley, he took the gun out of his jacket with ease, and signaled another man who was waiting just inside the door.

"Get Marie Antoinette ready," he said to one of his bouncers, sending Riley another lavish look, he turned and walked away, one of the other men following close behind.

Her heart was still thumping loudly in her chest, as her neck tingled and her stomach swirled with nausea. Exhaling as an attempt to calm her brain, she took a step forward, only to be suddenly stopped by a rough hand on her shoulder. Riley had a distressing feeling she wouldn't be allowed to leave any time soon.

Everyone seem completely oblivious to the actions happening around her. Downing glasses of champagne in their bright dresses and outlandish jewelry, Riley wondered out the paid for it all. The golden hue from the lights causing the whole room to blur.

In this line of sight, no one would see her. If she could take five steps forward…

Completely frustrated with the situation, Riley jolted forward, kicking her foot backwards with a strong force, making contact between the man's legs.

A soft _oof_ sounded behind her before she made a break for it.

Yet in those shoes, she only made it three steps before she was caught, dragged backwards with such a force, her legs collapsed beneath her.

Flailing slightly, she tried to regain her balance, one of her shoes falling off in the process. The man caught her roughly, "stay put," he said gruffly.

Riley continued to struggle, gaining a bit of wriggle room, she reared back her arm and threw all her energy into a punch to his jaw. The man's head whipped to the left, blood exploding from his bottom lip. Not wanting to wait around of his reaction, Riley made another attempt to move, but once more he caught her.

And this time, he threw a punch of his own.

The entire world shifted, her face pounded with pain. Dark spots floated into her vision, as her cheek rested against tiled floor.

"Now look what you made me do." The man's voice sounded so far away, Riley had to concentrate to make out the words. Pushing herself up, her whole head began to throb.

Suddenly, she was pulled to her feet, "hopefully that doesn't bruise, Mr. DiNapoli won't like that."

He gripped one of her shoulders once again, and pushed her against the wall. Riley's mind was slightly hazy but she began to think of multiple ways to get out of this situation.

One of them being to grab the vase next to her and…

"I'm going to take my wife back now," a voice from the right said. Mac's voice was strong and held an obvious tone of fury. Before the other man had a chance to open his mouth and reply, Mac tased him. Convulsing, the man fell to his knees, but Mac wasn't concerned for his safety.

"Didn't know you had a Taser," Riley whispered, her head pounded from the man's forceful blow.

"I made it," Mac replied quietly, his voice far away as his eyes took in Riley's appearance.

"Out of shoe laces I imagine," she replied, a smiled forming but wincing at the movement of her face. Exhaling sharply, his jaw clenched with fury as he barely touched the skin around her temple. For a moment, he seemed to forget what situation they were locked in, his concerns for her trumping everything else in his mind.

Riley had to say his name twice before he finally heard.

"We better move," he mumbled, pulling off his jacket, he wrapped it around her slender shoulders.

"Hold on," Riley exclaimed, throwing herself towards the unconscious man on the floor, she began searching in his pockets. Finally finding his wallet, Riley memorized his name and put everything back. Mac did a quick scan around them before sending Riley a disbelieving look, he ushered her to her feet.

"You're something else you know that?"

"Says the man with the homemade Taser."


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting this story, it means so much. Hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a long one

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

 **Part 5**

* * *

 _So much for a party,_ Riley thought, wishing the night hadn't in the middle of a fist fight and a tazed man at her feet. Disappointingly, Riley had hoped to gather more intel, but some things got in the way.

For example, her fist and another guy's face.

"I can walk Mac," Riley repeated for the fourth time as Mac lugged her up the stairs. Somehow, missing one of her heels resulted in Mac believing she wasn't cable of climbing a couple of stairs.

She really didn't look her best.

Swamped in Mac's suit jacket, limping from the absence of one of her heels and an oversized bandage slapped along her temple to prevent minor bleeding. Riley's was glad they were the only ones in the lobby of their apartment building.

Staring down at her bare foot, Mac pointed at her limp as if she hadn't already noticed.

"Did they take it from you?" He had asked horrified, scanning her once more for bruises he might've missed.

Riley couldn't help but laugh at the thought, "yes Mac, that's what they wanted. My shoe. I fought them off so I could keep the other one," she sarcastically replied, but instantly felt guilty as the expression on his face. His blue eyes only contained worry, and slightly shocked that she was able to find humor in any of this.

Rushing her out of the ballroom in such a haste, barely hearing her as she continued to tell him _she was fine._

Well, she _thought_ she was anyway. Until her head began to spin again, she half collapsed against Mac beside her. Which of course, did nothing but multiply his concerns. The door of the elevator tilted to the side, and the floor became an ice rink. Sounds blurred into one continuous washing machine churning in her mind, and time dragged slowly.

Suddenly the hallucination passed, and as quickly as it started, it stopped. Her world righted itself onto its correct axis, and Riley only felt slightly seasick.

And as if their luck wasn't at an all-time low, the elevator got stuck on the way down to them.

Apparently, Mac wasn't feeling particularly patient either, huffing about the broken elevator and simple got down on one knee and pointed at his back.

"You're kidding," Riley said simply, rolling her eyes and kicking off her other shoe, she swung down to pick it up with the intention of climbing the twisting staircase.

However, gravity was not on her side tonight, and her actions resulted in her tumbling to the marble floor. She caught herself with the palms of her hands from completely turning upside down, but the only thing bothering her was that she had just proven Mac's point.

"It's my dress it's too long," Riley grumbled, the dress tangling around her feet.

Helping her to her feet, Mac didn't say a word but she could see his amused smile at her grumbles but worrying eyes as it took her a beat too long to regain her balance _._

So now, she was being carried up flights of stairs like a baby Koala, while whispering jokes into his ear. Wanting to prove her mind was perfectly intact, she showed off her impressive memory but telling him all the stupid jokes Jack had told her as a kid.

They were going _pretty_ well; holding a streak of three huffs of laughter, one roll of the eyes and a genuine chuckle from Mac.

"How to you boil Holy water?" she asked him, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"How?" Mac asked her, as they finally reached the desired floor.

"You… oh wait I said it wrong. How do you _make_ Holy water?" Riley corrected herself, already knowing Mac's response.

"Riles, you have a concussion," Mac reprimanded her, hoping this time his words would sink in.

Riley replied with a buzzer noise, "I'm sorry sir but that is incorrect. The answer is; you _boil_ the _hell_ out of it." Tilted her head to the side to get a better look at him, she waited for the corners of his mouth to tick up, or his eyes to crinkle or the dimple in his cheek to deepen.

Nothing.

"Mac, I'm fine," Riley said softly, resting her unbruised cheek on his shoulder, hoping if she said it enough times he would start to believe her. His response included a sigh and a stony silence, as Riley could practically hear the thoughts thundering in his mind.

She knew he blamed himself.

And she wasn't sure how she could fix that.

Finally, they reached their floor, Mac's arms were occupied with holding her up, so he had to bend slightly so Riley could open the door into the hallway.

"I can take it from hear. No more dizzy spells," Riley told him, waiting for him to loosen his hold on her.

"You need to see a doctor in the morning," Mac warned her, and after a moment he let her go.

"And why would I do that? When I have the smartest guy I know in the same room-" she began casually, finding her feet and staring up at an agitated Mac. He clearly didn't agree, interrupting her before she could finish her sentence.

"This isn't a joke Riley," he whispered loudly, taking a step towards her with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows.

Riley's face lit up in surprise at his change in mood, shaking her head slightly, she scanned the corridor for people, they shouldn't be talking out in the open like this. But then again, most people were still at the party downstairs.

Or remembrance gathering; whatever the hell it was supposed to be.

"And I'm not joking. I don't need a doctor. You and Jack get hurt all the time-"

"This is different," he cut across. She could feel his eyes gazing at the bruise forming around the plaster and along her cheekbone, closing his own at the sight, he stalked towards their door.

Infuriated by his almost dismissal, Riley scoffed and followed him.

"How is this different? I'm perfectly fine and-"

"He _punched_ you in the head Riles of course it's different," Mac mumbled, fiddling with the key. Riley glared at the back of her head, her temper bubbling beneath her skin.

"And I punched _first,_ " she shot back, her voice raised slightly at the end, unable to keep her emotions from showing. Swinging open their door, Mac threw the keys into the glass bowel that Riley doesn't remember buying.

There was a slight chill in the air, that cut between Riley's bones and irritated the open gash beneath the white bandage along her temple. Wrapping Mac's suit jacket tighter around her his scent wafting up and warmed her insides.

Taking a deep breath, soothing some of her anger and opening her eyes to the situation.

Mac was on the edge of the armchair, his eyes trained on the rug in front of him and his leg bounced with anxiety. When he's upset over something, that has always been his tell. His leg would jig to a fast beat, and his hands would drag through his hair.

"I'm sorry I worried you. I didn't mean to cause so much trouble" Riley whispered, the guilt causing her voice to soften. Mac's motions stopped suddenly at her words, his blue eyes flicking up to hers instantly.

"No Riles, you didn't… this is my fault," Mac admitted. Riley had still yet to turn on the lights, the room was left in a dark shade as murky shadows lingered in the background.

And it was still so _cold._

"How on Earth could this all be your fault," Riley asked him, pointing at her cheek which was beginning to burn hot with pain as it swelled.

Walking towards him, she pulled at his jacket once more to gain more heat. Plopping down onto the couch beside him, her head slightly spun with the movement.

Maybe she has a _slight_ concussion.

"I didn't have you back. I took too long to respond. I was a terrible partner-" he blurted.

"One more self-depreciating comment and I might slap you,"

Mac huffed a laugh, leaning forward so he could take a better look at her face, he began to reach out before stopping himself. Mumbling about needing _peas_ , he stood up quickly and went in search of anything to stop the swelling.

"I don't need peas," Riley lowered herself slowly, curling into a ball on the couch. Her eyes dropping to their own occurred. She could feel herself mumbling something else but couldn't figure out what she was saying, as she slowly allowed darkness to seep into her mind.

* * *

 _Riley kicked at the gravel beneath her worn down converse, scrapping the loose stones between the solid ground and her withering soles. The cold air nibbled at her young skin, scraping the warmth away and freezing her emotions swirling around in her mind._

 _"_ _Hey kiddo," the voice announced. It sounded a lot like Jack's, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. Not again._

 _Riley remained in position, with her head down, sitting on the front step of her new house. Her school bag was still at her feet, she hadn't yet gone inside after the bus dropped her off. Well, the driver refused to go down her road, resulting in her walking for ten minutes down a path she wasn't one hundred percent sure of._

 _Even at ten, she knew that probably wasn't the safest journey home._

 _"_ _C'mon, I didn't travel all this way to get the silent treatment," the voice spoke again._

 _Riley perked up this time, because she definitely didn't imagine Jack's voice the second time._

 _A sheepish smile grew on his face as he stood a few feet away from her, his arms slightly outstretched by his side, unsure where he stood in this situation._

 _Riley jerked slightly, ready to run towards him because she really, really missed him. But suddenly she froze, all those feelings rushing back. The argument with her mom, her dad and the sudden absecnce from her life._

 _He'd been gone for six weeks._

 _She thought she saw him outside her old school one time, but as soon as she has seen him, he disappeared. Now he was standing a few feet away from her, and all she wanted to do was cry. Punch him. And hug him._

 _"_ _I don't care about far you travelled," Riley muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. She knew he heard perfectly well, because that man had perfect hearing. Gulping back the lump in her throat, she stood up from the step and threw the bag on her back in one fluid motion._

 _"_ _Riley sweetheart-" he began walked towards her, sorrow filled his eyes. But she didn't understand why he was so sad._

 _He's the one that made her mother move again._

 _He's the one that left._

 _"_ _Forget it. If you're here for mom she's at work. Sorry to waste your time," Riley shot, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. Turning around, she slammed the door shut behind her._

 _She knows how long Jack stood staring at the closed door. She knows he sat at the front step and covered his face with his hands._

 _But the betrayal in her heart shouted at her to ignore him, and it was louder than the vulnerability of letting him into her small life again._

* * *

It felt like she was only asleep for a second before she was softly shaken awake.

"…I know you're tired, but I can't let you be asleep for more than thirty minutes," Mac told her, brushing a loose hair out of her eyes. "Also, we've a slight problem."

* * *

"Once more. From the beginning," Maddy commanded, crossing her arms as she stared through the camera. Even at the late hour somehow, she looked put together.

Mac ran a hand through his hair, exhaling loudly and collapsing further into the couch. Maddy raised an eyebrow at Mac's uncharacteristic behavior, as his annoyance of hearing the story again became obvious.

"I came in through the door first, Riley came after me. We didn't notice anything at first because we were preoccupied with Riley's injuries. She sat down on the couch, I went to get her something frozen in the kitchen then I saw the broken glass on the floor. The balcony door was smashed open. I know we're a couple of floors up, so it looks like they entered through next door to climb in through our door," Mac informed her, his voice like lead as he went through the details.

Riley sat perched on the edge, leaning forward so she didn't have to speak too loudly at the laptop screen. Holding a tissue to the cut above her eyebrow, she had taken the bandage off to assess the damage. She also had a small ice pack Mac had made, held to her cheekbone. Riley was hoping the skype call wasn't good enough quality to pick up on the dried blood or the bags underneath her eyes.

"Mac, would you mind making me a coffee?" Riley asked him, squeezing his knee. He deflated at her touch, but left Maddy alone with her to talk.

The digital clock on the mantel piece blinked the early hours of the morning, as Riley couldn't contain her yawn, she tried to talk around it but it controlled her entire facial features for a moment.

"You probably have a concussion, I've worked with Jack long enough to hear him complain about them. You won't be able to sleep for too long tonight," Maddy commented, her reach disappearing behind the screen for a moment before bringing a cup to her lips.

"Yeah Mac has filled me in on _all_ the details," Riley replied with a smirk, allowing the unknown sentence to slide between them. Maddy knew how intense Mac could be when it came to his friends' health.

"Well, you were assaulted and not long after your house was broken into," Maddy simply said, not emphasizing any words but the message was clear.

Riley waved her off pretending it was just _another day,_ when they both knew; it had been a _really long day._

"I'll send over an updated report tomorrow of everyone we met. A couple of suspicious characters, other than the 'assaulter' and the 'licker'," Riley casually said, holding in a shudder as her mind flipped to the memory of the man's slimy tongue sliding agonizingly, slowly along her neck. Looking at her hands, she knew Maddy was about to reply, so she continued her update quickly, refusing to talk seriously about the actions of a few hours ago.

"So, the Simmon's family are looking fairly suspicious. Laura's cousin Harry has an enemy who I'm sure is already connected to Laura, also her uncle invited myself and Mac to dinner. Mr. DiNapoli i.e. 'licker', but I don't think I can't put that in my report, anyway, he called someone Marie Antoinette. I'm not yet sure who he could be referring to," Riley concluded her speech with a yawn.

Maddy took a file from an unknown hand appearing into the screen from the left. As she looked over the file, Mac arrived back in the room with her coffee. Sitting on the edge of the couch, he placed the cups carefully on the coffee table.

Dropping the icepack and tissue to her lap, she expected his next movements. Taking out a small flashlight from his back pocket, he checked to see if her pupils were dilating. For the third time in half an hour.

Riley tried to contain her laugh at his serious expression, as he scanned her entire face for clues of something worse, something that he was missing.

"Keep applying pressure to that," he instructed, handing her a fresh tissue and pointed to the wound that stretched from her temple to her eyebrow.

"I think he was wearing a ring," Riley innocently supplied, believing Mac was wondering how she managed to get cut there. With his eyes were glued to the gash, his jaw clenched tightly at her words, dropping his eyes to his lap. Knowing instantly she said the wrong thing, she opened her mouth to retrace her words but Maddy cut in.

"Tell me again what was missing?" Maddy asked them, closing the file and handing it back to whoever had given it to her.

"My purse, that necklace you sent over that I didn't wear and Mac's watch. Most of our stuff was in the safe, my laptop, cash etc. I suppose we're lucky," Riley answered.

"Here's the bad news, we've looked through the security footage and we've come up with nothing. A male of average height broke into your apartment, but we can't be sure it was connected to the guy that assaulted you tonight," Maddy confessed, sending them both a disappointed smile, knowing they needed more information.

"You can't be serious, of course it's connected. This guy attacks Riley, then the elevator breaks leaving enough time for someone to break in. Come on Maddy, there's obviously a link," Mac started, his leg beginning to bounce.

Riley tried to concentrate on the screen, but her eyes closed on their own accord. The darkness was warm and settled the pounding in her skull. She could hear Mac and Maddy arguing in the background, their voices blurring into one another.

* * *

 _"_ _Wait what?!" Mac exclaimed, staring at the television in ultimate shock._

 _"_ _Sorry Mac. Lucy has just been kicked off the bachelor, which means…pay up," Riley pointed to the jar on the table in front of them. The label of the jar read 'Bachelor Bet', which contained Jack and Maddy's loosing amounts, and now Mac's twenty bucks. Which just left herself and Bozer left in the game._

 _When the series had started, they all chose one contestant they thought who would win the heart of the very handsome Miles Theroux._

 _It was a double elimination, which resulted in Lucy and Hannah M. being kicked off at the same time, neither of them getting into the final two. Hannah M. was in floods of tears, her teeth trapping her wobbling lip as she tried to explain how completely heartbroken she was._

 _While Lucy, Mac's supposed winner, simply smiling casually at the camera, "well," she started, staring at the sobbing woman next to her, "if there's one thing my mother taught me; there's two things you never chase, a bus and a man, because there's always another one around the corner."_

 _"_ _Preach Lucy," Bozer whooped, lifting the beer to his lips._

 _Riley sat between Bozer and Mac on the couch, all three of them had their feet perched on the low table in front of the television._

 _"_ _You should've picked someone like Tanya," Bozer explained, pointing to the screen as last year's Miss Argentina popped up on the screen. Flipping the long brown curls behind her shoulder, she sent a pearly white grin Mile's Theroux's way. Feigning surprise as she giggled along with Maria, the woman Riley had her money on._

 _Maria was a kindergarten teacher, blonde sleek hair, cute button nose and musical voice; perfect on paper. She was also the girl that first kissed Miles._

 _"_ _She's too good for him anyway. Too smart, and she was the only one that stood up to Tanya when she was messing with Hannah M.'s head," Mac grumbled, clearly unhappy with the result. Riley laughed at his sour attitude._

 _"_ _Okay sure, we've seen her mean streak. But Tanya knows what she wants, and she's going to take down whoever gets in her way," Bozer pleaded her case._

 _"_ _You're both wrong. They never pick the mean girl or the one that's clearly too good for him. He needs someone like Maria. They'll be happy for three months and end their engagement with a sappy post on Instagram," Riley announced, reaching for a Dorito and plopping it into her awaiting mouth, while Mac and Bozer stared at her in shock._

 _"_ _Wow, way to ruin the ending Riley," Bozer grumbled._

 _"_ _Such a cynic," Mac tutted, holding back his grin._

 _Riley simply dug another chip into the salsa, "Open your eyes boys. It's a big bad world out there."_

* * *

The pain above her eye sharpened suddenly, and her eyes blinked blearily open. Mac's apologetic face was the first thing she saw, as he moved the plaster from above her eyebrow to examine the wound.

 _Was he always this close?_

It took her a moment to realize her head was laying on his shoulder, and she was practically snuggled against his side.

Jerking herself upright, Riley sat up straight in her chair while trying to ignore the sudden pounding in her head.

 _Smooth,_ she sarcastically congratulated herself, hoping the blush wouldn't appear along her cheeks. Depositing two painkillers into the pain of her hand and giving her a glass of water, Mac's attention was mostly focused her continuous bleeding wound.

"Riley I don't like the look of that cut," Maddy said from the screen. Surprised she was still in contact, Riley was speechless for a moment and embarrassed she was caught drooling on Mac's shoulder.

"Yeah Maddy we might finish this in the morning, Riley might need stitches so we need to get a move to the hospital. I'll do a more thorough check of the house later," Mac said while tying his shoelaces. Riley looked over at him in disbelief, he had somehow found the time to change into jeans and a hoodie but Riley was still trapped in the formal gown she was getting sick of.

"Mac, come on I'm fine. Look it's basically stopped bleeding," she complained, pulling the tissue away carefully only to feel a trickle of blood travel down her face.

Mac sent her a knowing look, lifting her hand back into the position it was previously in.

"I hate to break it to you, but you can't go to the hospital," Maddy warned, sending Riley a pitiful look and holding her hand up to stop Mac from speaking. His mouth opened to object, already pointing at the wound on her face.

"You can't be seen bringing your wife to the hospital in this state, at this time of night. Too many questions, and there's not enough answers to cover them. Someone either at the hospital or in that building will be suspicious enough to keep a closer eye on you both. You're supposed to be keeping a low profile," Agent Ashby said, moving into the screens view. Riley and Mac hadn't even known he was present.

"That will be all," he finished, moving closer to the screen moving it flicked into darkness. Riley had seen Maddy's face before he terminated the call, and she found solace in the knowledge of her boss disliked Ashby as much as she did.

Silence filled the dimly lit room, Riley sat back against the couch, knowing what was about to happen. Turning to face Mac, he stared down at his hands and in that moment, Riley felt like she could read his mind.

"If we can't go to the hospital…" Mac started, his eyes drifting from the fresh blood and finally locking with her chestnut eyes.

"I'll get the whiskey," Riley finished.

Riley has gotten stitches twice in her life.

The most recent needle to cross her skin was along the inside of her thigh.

A dangerous mission in Moscow somehow became worse when the American government had to cut ties with the mission, refusing to send in back up when things got hairy. They had landed in the country only to be double crossed by their handler and chased by their enemies.

* * *

 _"_ _Christ Jack watch the speedbumps," Bozer yelled, his patience wearing dangerously thin. Riley watched the beads of sweat roll down the slides of his temple, the stress of the situation finally reaching his mind._

 _"_ _You try out-driving these Mobsters okay? Swerving and speeding, are my only options," Jack projected back, his eyes continuously glancing at the mirror to see the back of the car._

 _It was probably the smallest car they've ever stolen for a mission, all four of them cramped inside the two-door mini cooper. The advantageous of it being able to swing down alley ways and slide easily between cars on the motorways._

 _Although Riley wasn't fond of the cramped backseat, considering she had a passed-out MacGyver on her lap. His bottom-half was all scrunched up, half on the seat, half falling on the floor, but his head was laying peacefully in her lap. And Riley really hoped he opened those familiar blue eyes anytime soon._

 _Sometime soon, she whispered, tipping his cheekbones with her fingers lightly, as if she was trying to tap into his sleeping state and rise him from it._

 _"_ _Oh God, his head is bleeding," Bozer mumbled in horror, twisting his body so he faced the back of the car. The sight of blood mixed in with Mac's blond hair caused Riley's mind to go into shut down. She vaguely heard Jack yelling, a dull ping of a bullet of the edge of the car and Bozer's incessant questions._

 _Weaving her hands through his soft locks, she searched for the bleeding wound._

 _Only she couldn't find one._

 _The blurriness of the world dissipated when she realized with relief the blood wasn't from Mac's brain, but from her thigh. Quickly concluding she must've cut her thigh went taking down one the Russians, she grabbed a jacket to put between her thigh and his head._

 _"_ _It's okay it's not from his head," she told Jack and Bozer as she continued to weave her hands through his hair. There was a beat of silence as Jack took another wide swerve around an ornate church._

 _Meeting Jack's eyes in the mirror, Riley could feel his stare burning though her skull._

 _"_ _And where did all that blood come from?" he asked, deathly calm. Riley's thigh spoke up, the pain beginning as a dull throb as the adrenaline wore off._

 _"_ _Did we lose them?" Riley asked trying to divert their attention, checking over her shoulder in the back window._

 _"_ _Riley, where did the blood come from?"_

 _She ignored his question, scanning the deserted road. From the outskirts of the scene, a small flew from one of the side streets, galloping towards them with a worrying pace._

 _"_ _Jack…" Riley began, watching as large guns were poking out each four windows. Jack's gaze locked on the road as he began yelling at Bozer for an escape route and instructing Riley to 'stay low'._

 _Riley stared down at her lap only to be met with blinking cobalt eyes._

 _"_ _Morning sunshine, glad to see you joined the party," Riley whispered, wishing in that moment he would stay asleep and skip these situations._

 _He grumbled, his head obviously aching. Seemingly oblivious to the situation happening around him, closed his eyes and turned his head to move closer towards Riley's stomach._

 _"_ _Are you seeing a way out of this Bozer?" Riley asked, continuing to brush her fingers through Mac's hair._

 _"_ _Stay low," Jack yelled, as he swerved right. On instinct Riley bent forward, shielding Mac's head with her torso. A bullet penetrated the back window of the car, sending shards of glass in all directions. Riley wasn't sure where the bullet lodged itself into but she didn't car as long as it wasn't in any of them._

 _"_ _Jack turn left, Maddy has a chopper coming in. E.T.A four minutes," Bozer announced._

 _With that, Riley sent a quick word of thanks to whoever was looking after her up there._

* * *

"Hold on," Riley asked, taking another swig of the whiskey. It burned a path down her throat, settling uncomfortably in her stomach, mixing with her anxiety about the needle currently sitting in Mac's hand.

Mac exhaled slowly, his chest falling as he centered himself.

For a moment, Riley didn't recognize him. This wasn't the man she laughed with, watched trashy reality television or made inedible omelets with.

This man has serious eyes, no emotions dared crossed his face as gave her the warnings, the painkillers and applied the numbing agent to her wound. And Riley knew this was the same guy that disarmed bombs in the most hectic areas of the world.

It probably should've eased her worries, knowing the person with the sharp object was professional and calm.

But it didn't.

She could feel herself beginning to fidget. Squeezing her fingers, she closed her eyes and waited for Mac to sew stitches into her skin.

"I'm reading a book about anti-gravity," Mac announced, picking up another wipe to clean the cut once more. Riley could feel her eyebrows draw closer in confused, squinting one of her eyes open she peered at him and waited for him to continue.

"It's impossible to put down."

Riley blinked wide eyed, before breaking out into a large grin.

Mac smiled at her reaction, before leaning forward slowly, the needle poised between his fingers skillfully.

"So how many times have you done this?" Riley asked him, not even trying to hide the shake within her voice.

"Enough times to know what I'm doing,"

"Is that your optimistic attitude speaking?"

"Believe me; because it's your face, I'll be extra careful," Mac replied, exhaling softly before leaning in and piercing the skin with the needle.

Riley wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, the concussion or the pain, but her stomach flipped with nausea as soon as Mac began. The pain was a dull burn from the medication, but she knew she needed something to focus on.

"Tell me again why I can't have those little steri-strips?" Riley asked him, her voice wavering as he worked.

"Wounds too deep and too wide," Mac whispered, his eyes glued to the wound as he carefully maneuvered the tools. Riley made a humming noise as if in agreement, exhaling shakily to try and calm her racing heart.

"Don't worry, I'll make it nice and neat so there won't be an obvious scar," Mac supplied, brushing a loose curl out of his way gently and tucking it behind her ear.

"It won't be the first one," Riley replied, her voice slightly faraway. Her vision was darkening in the corners of her eyes, as the pain became overpowering.

"Hey, hey, Riles I need you to concentrate okay, with that concussion I don't want you passing out," his voice loud and clear as he tapped her cheek, dragging her from the warm lulling sensation, "you should be in a hospital," he mumbled to himself.

"That other scar you have, is that from Moscow?" Mac asked her, trying to keep her alert. "Do you want to run me through that again? Boze says the guy you took down was nearly seven foot."

"S'not the only scar I have," Riley murmured, pulling her arm back sluggishly, she bent it to show the back of her arm to Mac. A faded, pink, jagged line ran from her elbow and traveled a few centimeters towards her shoulder.

Mac swallowed tightly, his eyes flicking from the scar to her face, "do you want to tell me how you got that?"

Riley took a deep breath, her mind travelling back to a childhood photo she had wanted to forget about.

"Do you remember that picture you saw of me? Covered from head to toe in mud?" Riley asked him, while Mac nodded in remembrance.

"Well, I got the scar shortly after that. Myself and my cousin got home, I was a mess of course and I walk through the front door… when I find my mum on the floor." Riley stopped for a moment to catch her breath, her emotions felt completely numbed as she went through the memory in her mind. She stared down at the wooden floor, unsure if she was about to vomit or pass out, before she felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

She didn't have to look up to see Mac's face, a mixture of sadness and stone.

"Her nose was pumping blood and she had her hands over her head, so I picked up a plate from the sink and threw it at her boyfriend's head," she gulped a laugh, remembering how show she had to go on her tippy toes to reach the counters. "As you can image, he didn't like that. I ran so fast I tripped and scrapped my arm on a rock," Riley traced the bumpy flesh gently with one her fingers.

Suddenly the air felt claustrophobic and she felt like she had been splayed open.

"Sorry that was _way_ too much and… anyway she met Jack after that. For a while it was good…," she mumbled, not able to find the words. Mac finished the job he was doing, she hadn't even felt the last few moments.

Riley could feel herself retreated backwards, and Mac caught her hand suddenly, as if he could see her emotional back peddling.

"Hey, you and me… we're partners. You can always talk to me," Mac eyes locked hers, "how about this, you share something… I share something," he offered.

Drawing her legs close to her chest, she curled up slightly and dropped her chin onto her knees, "you're on," she said softly, watching the corners of his mouth tick up.

"Well, I'm not sure… I mean you already know a lot about me,"

"I don't know everything, like… what was your grandfather like?"

Mac thought for a moment, "he was a good man."

"That's it… that's all your giving me?" Riley laughed.

"Pretty much sums him up. But he had his questionable moments," Mac continued as Riley's eyebrow raised at his final words.

"His teaching methods were… unusual. Before my dad left, he used to drop me at my grandfathers every Friday after school, and he'd go back to work. But I'd always walk in, and my grandfather would have all his guns laid out on the kitchen table. Now, there's a couple of reasons I hate guns, much to my grandfather's disappointment or happiness; I was never sure. He would collect them, keep them in locked cases and explain the physics of a bullet leaving the barrel. But then he would sit on his favorite armchair, take them apart and clean each part for hours at a time. As he did that, he would explain the dangers behind the impact a bullet can have, horror stories to do with gun deaths"

"But I thought the physics behind the gun was amazing so one day, me and Bozer stole one of the guns to use it for my science project demonstrating the energy of a bullet… which would've never been allowed, but I was dumb and like… eight," Mac scoffed and Riley smiled, imaging a young Mac so enthusiastic about science fairs.

"Inevitably, my grandfather found out. And his punishment was more…practical than theoretical. He stood me in front of the tree that me and Boze were at earlier, explained why guns were _not_ toys. And pointed, the gun we had taken, at me,"

Riley's blood froze at his words, her eyes wide as she waited for him to continue.

"And fired. The bullet was wedged about five centimeters above my head. And I guess I learned my lesson," Mac shrugged, remembering the deafening noise of the gun be fired and the muffled sound of the bullet cracking the wood. Riley was speechless, and heartbroken at the thought of Mac being so afraid.

"Did you know in movies, when someone's been shot there's all this blood and then one of the characters' yell about their death, because of the loss of blood?" Mac broke the memory with a fact, his eyes twinkling as he waited for Riley to answer.

She tilted her head and smirked, "yeah, a big fuss is made,"

"Well it's actually the energy from the bullet that kills them. The bullet hitting your body and that energy rippling through all your vital organs," he concluded, his hands exaggerating each word.

"Do you know what else is interesting,"

"What?"

"You talk a lot with your hands," Riley said while throwing her hands in weird shapes as if she was him, but Mac simply laughed.

"Yeah I guess I do that a lot huh?" He replied, staring down at his callused hands.

"Aren't you tired?" Riley asked him.

"I think I'm beyond tired. I'm actually really hungry," Mac admitted, lying back on the couch and stretched his legs until they were propped on the coffee table.

"I can make... cereal?" Riley offered, only half serious.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm so hungry?" Mac continued, trying to contain a smirk. Confused, Riley furrowed her eyebrows and shrugged, "I don't know why?" She laughed.

"Because the waiters wouldn't let me eat anything made in the kitchen," Mac deadpanned, waiting for Riley's reaction.

It took her a moment before she burst out laughing, the realization slapping her in the face, "Hey you're the one that told me about the _allergy horror story_."

Mac smiled, "I didn't think it was that memorable," he said, turning towards her again.

He had that funny look on his face again, as if he was thinking, or looking at something he couldn't quite figure out.

"Allergic reactions are usually pretty memorable Mac. I was worried one of those little deserts was contaminated with _deadly_ strawberries," Riley softly replied, smirking as she exaggerated the word deadly.

Mac reached forward, brushed his thumb cautiously around the stitches above her brow, "fair enough," he mumbled, his voice fair away as he examined the bruise beginning to grow along her cheek one.

Riley reaches up, catching the inside of his wrist and holding her thumb against his beating pulse.

"It doesn't even hurt," referencing to the marks on her face. Mac gulped loudly, shaking his head slightly as he couldn't tear his eyes away from her marked skin.

"That's not the point. He still _hit_ you, and... seeing you on the ground… Riles I wanted to kill him. And what if I hadn't even noticed you were gone? I was preoccupied with Regina of all people, but then you just disappeared from my line of sight. What if I was too late, what if..." Mac confessed, his eyes growing glassy as he thought back to the event.

Riley felt her stomach tighten at his words, feeling completely useless and completely at fault all at the same time. She hadn't even gone into all the details with him. She had told him what Mr. DiNapoli had said, but she hadn't told him how disgusting he had been to her.

Staring at him now, she knew it wasn't the time. Rubbing small circles along his pulse point, she watched his guilt swirl around in his mind and she wasn't sure she could take much more.

"Listen to me, this is _not_ your fault," she said pointing vaguely to the bruised area, "it's over. The night is over. We can't think in _What ifs_ or we'll all go nuts. Okay?"

Waiting for his confirmation, he couldn't look her in the eye. Riley knew he was over tired, hungry and stressed; he was stretched too thin.

Taking his hand down from her face, she gripped his hand tightly and stop up from the couch.

"Right now, you need sleep," pulling him towards the bedroom.

"But it's morning," he yawned, but Riley ignored his words, throwing her arm around his waist and leaning into his chest as they walked the short journey towards the bedroom.

She wasn't sure when the touch barrier broke between them, but Riley wasn't sure she could stop. When he was in this state, all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and make sure he was okay.

"And it's Sunday, which means being in bed all day is perfectly acceptable," she replied.

The morning light was beginning to spew in through the window, filling the dark room with a golden glow. Knowing Mac would sleep through anything, she didn't bother with the curtains.

"You could still be concussed," He protested.

"And you just stayed up all night so I could have some sleep," she argued, "I'll make myself a coffee, then catch up on sleep later. Now go to bed."

Leaving his side, she took his suit jacket off and laid it on the armchair. Grabbing a hoodie and sweats she made her way to the en suite, when she tripped slightly on the long gown.

"I'm not concussed, I'm just-" she began her warning, afraid Mac would begin to worry again.

Interrupting her with a laugh, strolling towards her, "just clumsy when you're tired. I know." He then leaned in and gently kissed her forehead, "g'night", he huskily murmured against her skin and casually walked away.

Riley felt her heart stop. It was only when she had the door of the en-suite closed behind her, her heart eventually returned to its regular rhythm.

 _Completely ridiculous_ , she told herself. This was her friend, her partner; and now she felt like a school girl with a crush whenever he touched her.

 _Close quarters, lines crossed,_ is what she told herself. They've been in each other's company alone for hours at a time. She was recently broken up with, so maybe she needed a rebound and poor Mac was standing in front of her.

Sighing to herself, she began to get changed when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. It was the first time she'd seen her reflection, and it was a lot worse than she'd imagined.

The cut above her brow was closed with thick black stitches, the skin around it raised and irritated with blood crusting around the edges. The pentagon shaped bruise left on her cheekbone was swollen, and she was surprised her left eye wasn't closed-up as a result.

The mirror became cloudy, and it took her a moment to realize it was her tears blurring her vision. It wasn't the pain that upset her, but the trauma of seeing herself in that state. Tentatively throwing the jumper over her head, she refused to look in the mirror again and made her way back to the bedroom.

Riley eyed the bed, it looked extremely inviting and her back was slightly aching from the couch.

Taking into account; Mac was practically passed out, completely absorbed into the quilt, his blond hair was the only part of him exposed. Second guessing her intentions, she gave out to herself once more, before any of this; she wouldn't have made this big a deal of sitting next to him on a bed.

Without much more thought, she grabbed her laptop and made up her mind.

* * *

It didn't take long for Riley to find Laura Simmons friend online, specifically the one that consistently visited her scene of death and had an argument with Harry; the cousin.

Joy Burke looked ordinary enough, she didn't seem to use Facebook as much. Her profile picture showing herself and who seemed to be her Mum, smiling toothily as the sun set behind them. So, Riley hacked into Joy's Snapchat account, and was then able to find all her saved photos - the ones only available to Joy. And now Riley

She was only a quarter of the way through her photos when she felt Max stir beside her.

Facing away from her, he slowly began to shuffle beneath the covers. Lifting his head slightly from the pillow, to display a new extreme bed hair. His blond locks seem to protrude from his head in all angles, she was sure most of it was covering his face. Riley was about to open her mouth, when Mad suddenly startled upwards.

His entire back was tense, as stared at the closed bedroom door, turning to glance around the room his eyes finally landed on Riley, and his entire body sagged with relief. As if the air had been sucked out of him, his hold chest conclaves inwards with his exhale.

"You alright?" She skeptically asked him.

Mac gulped, glancing back at the bedroom door and sighed, "yeah just... really vivid dream. Are you alright? How're the stitches? Any sign of a headache?"

Riley laughed, "yes Doctor MacGyver, I'm perfectly fine now. A couple of pain killers and I'm golden."

Mac simply raised an eyebrow, and flopped back down against the bed, "alright," he mumbled, a yawn interrupting anything else he was going to say.

"What are you looking at?" he asked her sleepily, his eyes beginning to droop again.

"Remember that girl I was telling you about? I'm just going through her photos. I found a couple where she was at a party with Laura Simmons, no sign of Harry yet though and…" looking down beside her, she could see Mac was trying his best to stay awake and hold his concentration. His squinting eyes and drowsy nod made her heart clench.

Reaching over, pushed some blonde hair away from his forehead, his eyes dropping closed at her touch.

"How about I tell you when I have more info," she whispered, dragged her fingers softly over his scalp. He mumbled an answer Riley couldn't distinguish, and sighed as Riley continued to comb the blonde locks gently.

Biting her lip to stop a smile, she returned to her laptop, this time using only one hand to type.

But she really didn't mind.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 _Thanks for all the reviews so far & please let me know what you think x_

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Part 6**

* * *

"Is that… Daniel Simmons?" Mac asked, as they both looked at the screen of her laptop. Riley fitted a wireless security camera outside their front door that connected to her laptop. Moments ago, Mac had been snoring and Riley was half asleep when the knocking of their front door interrupted their relaxing moments.

Hopping up like a guard dog, Riley wanted to check the threat out for herself. Mac woke up when the pressure on the bed shifted, following her as they both watched Daniel Simmons lean against the corridor wall across from their front door.

Mac leaned closer and began grumbling, "is he smirking? Why is his face like that, what does he have to smirk about?"

"Alright Mr. Grumpy, I'll handle this one," Riley tapped his chest lightly and began strolling towards the door.

"Woah, woah, woah," Mac called her, halting her movements by taking a step in front of her. Mac tapping lightly against her bruised cheek. Raising his eyebrow, he watched her face contort as she began following his train of thought.

 _If she walks out there, all bruised and stitched up… Daniel will ask questions._

 _Questions they don't need and…_

 _Dammit he's right._

Sticking out her bottom lip and crossing her arms tightly in front of her, "fine, next time; I get to give out to the arrogant ass for interrupting our Sunday." The words slipping out of her annoyed mouth before she had a chance to stop.

Folding his lips into a thin line, Mac tried to hide his smile, "now who's grumpy?"

Rolling her eyes, she pushed him out of the bedroom and towards the ringing doorbell. Mac completely ignored the bell, turned a sent Riley a wink as she began closing the door so Daniel wouldn't see the bruise on her face. Riley peaked through the crack of the bedroom door. Mac's pajama pants were loose on his hips as he sauntered towards the front door.

"Ah Marshall, did you and your lovely wife have a good time last night?" Daniel greeted. Riley flicked her eyes over to the security camera to see him swagger towards Mac.

"Great night," Mac replied shortly, leaving heavily against the door and trapping Daniel from entering. The beat of silence was loud, and it was clear Daniel's arrogance would stop him from ever becoming friends with Mac.

"What can I do for you?" Mac asked him, his voice stern.

Holding his hands up in defense, the man pulled a face as if Mac had been extremely harsh, "listen, I'm just here to invite you and _Mrs. Williams,_ to dinner tonight. Thought it might be nice to get to know the new neighbors."

"Can't tonight," Mac answered, leaving no room for argument.

"Tomorrow then. Six o'clock," Daniel bargained, interrupting Mac as he began to protest, "I'm not taking no for an answer this time big guy." Sending Mac a salute and a fake laugh, Daniel sauntered away from an agitated Mac.

"No way am I having dinner with that asshole," Mac announced, heading towards the kitchen to get some food. Riley open the door fully, her thoughts doing flip flops in her mind.

"Well…" Riley began, following him out and hopping up to sit on the kitchen counter. "It would be the perfect time to get inside his house. There's only so much information I can get from hacking wirelessly. If I found his laptop…" Riley left the sentence unfinished, knowing Mac was beginning to see her point of view.

"But, there's the fact that we still don't know who broke into our apartment, we don't have any more information on Mr. DiNapoli and… Daniel might have a couple of questions concerning those stitches on your face," Mac countered, grabbing some bread to pop in the toaster. He moved swiftly around the kitchen, reaching up to collect to mugs for coffee, his abs peeked from beneath his t-shirt. Riley could feel herself begin to grow red, averting her eyes quickly and tried to concentrate on Mac's words.

"I'm currently waiting for the security footage to download from the party so we'll be able to see who Mr. DiNapoli was meeting, I have a feeling one of his goons will have disappeared to break in here. And my face… I'll be able to cover the bruising with concealer, and I'll stick a plaster over the stitches, make it look like a fell on a jog or something. Okay?" Swinging her legs as she went through the options, Riley finished off by stealing a piece of buttered toast and munching in to it, waiting for Mac's reply.

"Why do you always have to be right?" he sighed, jamming his slice of toast into his mouth while Riley simply sent him a shrug and smile.

* * *

 _6 months ago:_

 _"_ _Come on Riley, why do you have to go and ruin the fun," Billy complained, throwing his hands up in defeat. He sent her a smile as if to reassure her he was joking, but the emotion didn't quite match his eyes._

 _"_ _But these things are never realistic, sure it's a happy ending. But her getting married doesn't solve all her other problems. They didn't even tell us if she got that promotion she was nagging about in the beginning," Riley explained, pointing out every obvious flaw in the film._

 _The date was supposed to be romantic. Billy had chosen the cheesiest Hallmark movie he could find, cooked her dinner and brought wine. He had somehow found blankets in her cupboard that she didn't even know she had and thrown it over the two of them._

 _She couldn't tell him she was too hot. Didn't want to insult him by saying she hated these movies._

 _The wine and food were good though._

 _And he was a good guy._

 _Resting her head on his shoulder, she sighed, "sorry, it's just… these films all boil down to the same thing. All you need in life is love, and-"_

 _"_ _-and what; you don't believe that?" Billy interrupted her, shifting slightly so she had to lift her head to look at him._

 _"_ _I believe in balance. Love isn't everything and-," Riley casually replied, the words slipping from her mouth, but seeing Billy's face draw closed with annoyance she knew she had said the wrong thing._

 _"_ _-Wow, that's always a great thing to hear from my girlfriend."_

 _"_ _Okay, you're taking this the wrong way-" Riley began, tripping over her words as frustration began to build._

 _"_ _-I don't think I am. I think the greatest gift in life is spending it with someone you love," Billy professed, standing up suddenly and letting his half of the blanket fall to the floor._

 _"_ _If you'd stop interrupting me, then maybe you could let me explain," Riley began, standing up so she could look at him in the eye. She hated being talked down; both literally and figuratively._

 _"_ _Of course, I think there's more to just 'the one'. My family, my friends, my job-" she continued, only to be interrupted again._

 _"_ _-of course your friends," Billy said softly, as if he was coming to some realization._

 _Riley's mouth dropped open in shock, completely baffled by this situation, "Billy what the hell is this?" she asked, her voice low._

 _"_ _Someday Riley… I want you our relationship to move forward. I want you to be my wife," he said softly, reaching out for her as he took a step forward. Riley froze at the thought of marriage. Crossing her arms over her chest and take a step back. One minute they were fighting and now he was talking about spending the rest of their lives together._

 _Her brain went into overdrive as Billy stared into her eyes. Her motions kicked in, and she jerked forward, reaching for the empty wine glasses and carrying them to the kitchen._

 _"_ _Riley I'm not proposing," Billy called after her, following her quick retreat to the kitchen sink._

 _Calling once more, he placed a hand on her shoulder, "baby, I just want to make sure we're on the same page."_

 _Riley felt his heavy hand, as if he was freezing her in one spot. Flicking on the tap, she watched the water fill the glass with a pinkish liquid, washing away any remnants of the red wine left._

 _"_ _Billy I…" she began, gulping past the lump in her throat, catching sight of her reflection in the window, she looked herself in the eyes and took a deep breath._

 _Turning swiftly in the spot, she gazed up at his confused face, "why can't we just enjoy now?" she asked him._

 _"_ _Not enough," he told her, holding her eye contact with determination._

 _"_ _How is this not enough?"_

 _"_ _I need to know where my future is going," Billy protested, his hand squeezing her shoulder._

 _Riley gulped again._

 _"_ _I'm not a wife," Riley confessed, her words heavy. She couldn't imagine herself being the perfect housewife. She didn't feel confident being someone's other half, eternally responsible for their happiness when she could barely handle her own._

 _Billy simply laughed, smiling at her as if he had solved all her problems, "oh babe if that's all your worried about then you're crazy. You'd make a wonderful wife." Grabbing her hand and lifting it to his lips, he kissed the back of her hand gently._

 _"_ _Come on, there's an apple tart in the fridge we can heat up," walking away and opening another bottle of wine._

 _Riley stood frozen in the kitchen, and suddenly felt completely alone._

.

* * *

.

"Okay so Jack may be a tiny bit pissed," Mac greeted her, dripping in sweat after his run with Jack. It was their first assigned meeting with Jack, keeping him up to date with their findings in the case.

Riley was knee deep in camera footage from the party, every angle of the lobby, ballroom, space outside the bathrooms, but nothing that she could see who DiNapoli was meeting with.

"Oh, yeah why's that?" her voice completely distracted as she scanned every inch of her laptop screen.

"Apparently, he didn't like that he wasn't called after you were hurt," Mac brokenly replied as he chugged some water in between words.

Riley perked up at his words, "but how could I even tell him? We're only supposed to contact Matty if it's an emergency."

"I'd consider that an emergency," A voice interrupted them.

Riley jumped and Mac half choked on his water. Jack stood with his arms crossed, an eyebrow raised as he began to swagger towards Riley.

"Jack you're not supposed to follow me home," Mac exclaimed, opening the front door to check if anyone else was out there.

"Well excuse me for checking in on my family when I hear they were thrown around like a ragdoll," Jack petulantly replied, crossing the room so he could examine Riley closer. Holding his finger beneath her chin, he turned her face gently.

"It looks worse than it is," Riley mumbled pulling her face slightly away from his glare, watching as Jack's face grew red as he stared at her angry bruise.

"Looks worse than it _is_ huh? That's interesting; 'cos I'll make sure DiNapoli and that goon look a lot worse in a coffin…" Jack began nodding in determination, his voice trailing into multiple death threats as he turned swiftly towards the door, marching like he was on a mission.

" _Jack,_ " Riley called after him, throwing her hands up as she made eye contact with Mac, who made no attempt at stopping Jack from tearing her attacker limb from limb.

"Jesus Riles, I swear I'll kill him; that man _licked_ your neck -" Jack's voice growing into a yell but didn't quite get there when Mac interrupted him.

"-He _what_?" Mac growled, his tone deathly calm and equally ferocious.

"That's it," Riley muttered to herself as both men began talking over each other, yelling different ways of mutilation, "both of you need to sit down," Riley told them, glaring both him. Jack was pacing and Mac looked like he was going to explode, staring at the neck as if there was a mark present.

"Sit," she warned them again.

Trekking over to the couch, they both sat down within the small space. Jack mumbling about needing more room and Mac arguing that he was fine.

"Yes, I had a run in with a pyscho who licked my neck. I didn't want to bring it up because it's not a fond memory. Yes, it was a close call, but wasn't that close. Even if Mac hadn't made that taser-"

"-you made a _taser_?" Jack interrupted, but was soon silence when Riley sent him a hard glare.

"Even without the taser, I would've got out of there. You need to trust that. Okay?" she scolded.

Jack flopped against the back of the couch and grumbled, "just care about you, don't have to be so mean about it."

Sighing, Riley rolled her eyes, "where does Matty think you are?"

"Scoping out a suspect for a case me and Boze are on," Jack laughed, but quickly died down when a realization hit him, "you won't tell I was here will you?"

Mac laughed a reply, and stood up from the couch, "don't worry, we won't say a word. I'll make some coffee, you two catch up." Placing his hand on the small of her back, Mac sent her a soft reply before making his way to the kitchen.

Riley tried to ignore the look Jack sent her as he watched the exchange. Standing up, he strolled around the room. Picking up one of the picture frames on the table in the corner of the room, he smiled.

"Good honeymoon?" he asked her. Riley simply laughed at Jack's antics, but hid the fact that she loved that photo.

They were both in matching Hawaiian shirts and it was supposed to be a loving, smiley photo. But Riley remembered how tired she was becoming, how her cheeks ached from smiling through all the photos the agency needed.

She has her head thrown back against Mac's chest and groaned, her lip pouting, her eyebrows furrowed and her chin jutting forward in stubbornness. The photo was taken, and if it wasn't; Riley would never have known how Mac smiled down at her. A sweet grin covering his face, popping his dimples and glittering eyes.

"So, married life is good?" Jack inquired, looking over some of the other photos and picking up the one of her as a child.

"How's everything at home?" Riley side stepped the question, feeling as if she was about to fall into a trap. Because married life was good. Married life… was easy with Mac. Riley boiled it down to the logically reasoning that their world was completely fake. But it felt strange to be stuck in an alternative reality that didn't involve Jack.

"Not the same without you guys," Jack admitted causing Riley's heart to clench. Known for avoiding topics with humor, it was unusual to hear him tell them how it actually is. Riley completed the short distance between them and wrapped her arms around him tightly, not realizing how much she missed him until that moment.

"You're going to be in so much trouble for this," she mumbled, her voice muffled against his jacket.

"Worth it."

.

* * *

 _._

 _1 year ago;_

 _Noise. Shouting and gunfire._

 _Syria. What the hell were they still doing in Syria; Riley wondered._

 _She counted her heartbeats in time with the gun fire._

 _One thump of her heart; three shots fired from what seemed like the east side of the building._

 _Two beats; one shot, closer this time._

 _Three beats; four shots from a rifle, east side of the building again._

 _From what she gathered, Jack was being held near the south entrance, furthest from the line of fire. That gave her some solace, considering the bullets seemed to be coming closer towards her._

 _Cursing the captors that had a sand bag loosely thrown over her head, she wriggled her aching wrists caught in tight rope._

 _No use worrying, she told herself. Yet it didn't stop her imagining the twenty different ways the rebels would be torturing Jack. None of them going near her as he filled their time with snarky comments and witty comebacks, with every punch he took. All to take attention away from her._

 _She pulled suddenly at the ropes, a burst of desperation to drag herself from this position._

 _When she heard a voice. And it didn't belong to any of her captors._

 _The black hood was wiped from over her head and her eyes had to suddenly adjust to the harsh light._

 _Bozer smiling face was the first thing she saw._

 _"_ _Did you find Jack?" She asked him straight away._

 _"_ _Let's worry about getting you out of these ties," Bozer whispered, rushing around to look at her hands. His energy was at an all time high, practically vibrating with adrenaline._

 _"_ _Bozer," she warned, needing an answer to her question._

 _"_ _Stop worrying Riles, Jack kicked ass. He was in the middle of breaking free when I found him," Bozer informed her, grunting bad he began pulling the binds apart._

 _"_ _And Mac?" She inquired, hoping he was still safe. Last time she saw him he was with the target. Matty had sent them on a mission to save a Marine trapped in a prison. They had successfully retrieved him and were on the way back to the safe house when Matty called again. Her boss insisted there was data that needed to be collected from that prison, so they wanted them to turn back._

 _Riley being the tech expert and Jack being the muscle, they were the two most logical choices. Neither Mac or Bozer were happy with the decision, but someone needed to stay with the Marine._

 _Unfortunately, this time around they weren't so lucky._

 _"_ _Mac's disarming..." Bozer replied, his voice trailing off towards the end._

 _"_ _Disarming what?" Riley demanded, finally being able to pull her hands free. Trying to ignore the pain as she stood, she turned to look at Bozer._

 _"_ _Disarming what Bozer?" She asked again._

 _"_ _A rocket," he admitted as he gestured Riley to begin running._

 _And then they ran._

 _"_ _I really hope you're exaggerating," she whispered, as they scoped the corridors._

 _"_ _Nope. He almost didn't do it," Bozer added, before tearing off towards the exit._

 _"_ _What why?!" Riley exclaimed, trying to keep up pace but her lungs began to burn._

 _"_ _You and Jack were tied up in a foreign prison, I had to convince him to stay and disarm that damn thing," Bozer told her, humour lacing his voice; as if the whole thing was a joke._

 _Riley gulped a reply, unsure what she could say but, "Well that's Mac."_

 _Finally escaping through a cracked window, Riley was surprised to find the rocket displayed out in the open._

 _She was even more shocked to find Mac attached half way up it._

 _Jack was at the base, shouting at him to get down, as if he was a child that climbed a tree._

 _But Mac had a screw driver in his mouth, a face of concentration and rope wrapped around his waist to keep him from falling; there was no way he was getting down._

 _Suddenly noise began to spew from the bottom, as if it was warming up to take off. Mac got a jolt of energy, his hand moving faster as he dug through the wires of the machine._

 _"_ _Anytime today man," Jack called up, his voice tinged with worry as he looked up at his friend._

 _Not thinking, Riley and Bozer ran towards the rocket, standing beside Jack who began to pace anxiously._

 _Riley could see the stress in his muscles as he worked, his mind running a mile a minute._

 _Suddenly his whole body sagged in relief, and he sent a smile down as if he wasn't 10 seconds close to being carried off into space. Jack gave a hoot of celebration, Bozer began to laugh and Riley felt her whole body tingle with electricity from the adrenaline._

 _Climbing down from the rocket, Mac landed easily, his boots slamming against the dusty ground._

 _Mac turned to her and threw his arm around her, hugging her close. Looking at her as if he was about to say something, but simply opened and closed it again._

 _She knew what he meant._

* * *

"This is a bad idea," Mac whispered, as they stood outside Daniel Simmons apartment. His hand laying gently against the small of Riley's back, and the other hand held a bottle of wine purchased thirty minutes ago.

Riley hummed in response, her eyes glued to her phone hidden in her handbag. She was waiting for a software she created to clear images she had taken from the security footage, zooming and clearing the pictures so she could finally see who DiNapoli was meeting. It was clear it wasn't their first time meeting, they had chosen a spot hidden from the view of the cameras spotted around the room.

Therefore, Riley had to be more creative with her inspecting the video, she found different reflective surfaces including the tray that the waiters were holding; hoping one image would show a face.

It was taking longer for the program to work than she had anticipated, therefore she had set up an alarm on her phone to notify when the footage was ready to be viewed.

"He's going to make us wait isn't he?" Mac huffed, shuffling when the door remained closed after they rang the bell a few minutes ago.

Riley could feel herself begin to laugh at his attitude when she spotted something in her bag, and an idea popped into her mind. The square box hadn't been stowed away for that long, she had just gotten the item while Mac was going to the shop to buy the wine. While they roamed the isles filled with food and drink, one particular shelf had random items looking like they had been selected on the most random thing the store clerk could find and sell.

As soon as Riley saw the watch, she knew she had to get it.

Mac had been consumed with picked a red wine that was both nice and held a tone of 'I don't like you, but here's a bottle of wine,' which allowed Riley to buy the watch on the sly.

Whipping out the box, she handed it to Mac, "I was going to give you this later, but maybe this will make you feel better before going in there," she mumbled, feeling a blush and slight embarrassment begin to grow.

Mac's eye doubled in size at her surprise, staring down at the box before taking it delicately off her. Opening it up, he let out a sudden bark of laughter at the watch inside. A cartoon moustache was the most prominent feature, with the words ' _I moustache you the time.'_ However it was the tiny compass where the dot of the 'i' resided, really suited Mac's personality.

"I don't know when we'll get you watch back, and you keep looking at your wrist so…this can do as a substitute," Riley explained quickly, watching as Mac stared down at the gift in slight awe.

Shaking his head, he gently laid the wine and the box on the floor before placing the watch and wearing it on his wrist. Riley could feel the embarrassment die down, but the blush remained at seeing how flabbergasted Mac was acting.

Finally meeting her eyes, Mac stared at her with such intensity, Riley could feel herself sharply inhale.

"Riley you're-"

"-The Williams!" Daniel exclaimed, throwing open the door and interrupting Mac. Rile jumped at the sudden interruption, feeling disjointed for a moment at the sudden shift in atmosphere. Collecting the wine from the ground and throwing the empty box in her bag, she quickly regained her balance and thanking Daniel Simmons for the invitation of dinner.

Mac hadn't said a word yet, sending Daniel a smile that didn't reach his eyes and accompanying Riley through the door.

Stopping before entering through the threshold, Mac stopped and stuck out his hand to shake Daniels', "we've been looking forward to this all day," he told him and Riley had to stop herself from smiling, knowing every word from Mac's mouth was false.

"Well make yourself comfortable, my girl's running a little late. So, I might open this wine if that suits ye?" Daniel told him, swaggering towards Riley and slipping her coat from her slender shoulders. Daniel let his eyes linger along Riley's figure hugging jeans and top, "I'll hang this up somewhere safe," he winked and took her coat away without offering Mac the same privilege.

"I guess my coat will have to suffer on the couch," Mac commented, dropping his jacket along the back of the couch. Riley slapped his arm and shushed him, but let herself laugh at his antics, hoping Daniel didn't hear them in the kitchen.

They had a glass of wine, chatting about the ongoing of today's politics, Mac and Riley's fake jobs, and learned how Daniel and his girlfriend first met.

"Well she is just… she's really something. Beautiful, smart, and she's… funny sometimes," Daniel trailed off as if he was thinking about something else, "we first met at a coffee shop, both have the same coffee order. I don't think she heard the name, but she heard the drink; I had to wrestle it off her. Before of course, being a gentleman and giving her the coffee. In exchange for her phone number," he told them, sending Riley a wink and Mac a look as if it was something to be proud of. Mac simply hummed a reply, not giving him the response he was craving.

Even though Riley had yet to meet Daniel's girlfriend, she already wasn't a fan, they were waiting over an hour now and Daniel didn't want to serve food without her. Therefore, Riley was too glasses of wine in on an empty stomach, and starting to feel the effects.

Knowing she needed to start digging as soon as possible, she left Mac with the unfortunate job of keeping Daniel busy.

"Is your bathroom down the hall?" she asked, standing up from her position on the couch.

Daniel raised his glass to his lips and took a healthy gulp from his wine before responding. "Same layout, but the bedroom is bigger," he shamelessly winked at Riley, taking another sip of his wine. Mac cleared his throat, sending a daggering stare towards Daniel. _It was going to be a long night._

Riley moved swiftly through the hall, noting where the toilet was but bypassing to find the bedroom. She quickly noted the way the way the room was laid out before she began digging, taking a memory stick out of her pocket and began searching for his laptop. It took her a few moments, coming across two different pain killer prescriptions, an empty box of condoms and a suspicious amount of white powder in a small plastic bag in his top drawer. Discovering his laptop underneath a pile of laundry on a chair, she inserted the USB and began downloading the contents from the device.

Half way through downloading the items, she heard a thump from the room next door. Her movements instantly stilled. She heard Daniel let out an obnoxious laugh from the living room and she heard the soft murmuring of Mac's voice, so she knew they didn't make the noise.

Waiting another second before the device confirmed she had everything downloaded, she placed the laptop beneath the dirty jumpers and snuck out of the room.

In Mac and Riley's apartment, they had a small room beside their bedroom that worked as a study, a large desk, tall bookcase and a large window overlooking the city. Looking through the open crack of the door next to Daniel Simmon's bedroom, Riley could just about make out a bed. She wondered who was sleeping in the room.

Pushing the door open a little more, Riley realized she wasn't the only one wondering who was sleeping in that room.

Rustling frantically in the drawers of the bedroom, was the young girl arguing with Harry Simmons at the ball; Joy Burke. Clad completely in black yet her blonde hair peaked out from beneath the beanie, a brightness within the dark. She had yet to see Riley, her eyes trained on whatever she was searching for.

Leaning against the door, Riley cleared her throat softly, hoping she wouldn't scare the young girl too much. Leaping form her skin, she whipped around in the spot to face where the noise had come from. They stood there for a moment, neither of them saying anything. Riley held out her hands in surrender, watching fear encapsulate the girl's body as she began heaving in her breaths. Holding a finger to her lips, Riley stepper forward and closed the door behind her.

Once the door was securely shut, Riley raised one of her eyebrows and waited for an explanation.

"This looks worse than it is," Joy whispered, her voice cracked as she held her backpack to her chest.

Riley felt herself huff in surprise, as she looked around the room, "it looks like your breaking into…" picking up a A4 sized notebook from the desk in the corner of the room, she read the name on the top left corner, "Harry Simmon's bedroom."

Riley dropped the copy on the desk again, crossing her arms, "I thought Harry was living with Laura's parents?" she asked.

"He moved in to his uncles instead. Laura's parents had a tough enough time instead of having to deal with that dipshit."

The girl sighed heavily, dropped the bag to her feet and slumped onto the end of the bed. Fiddling with her hands, it was as if she was expecting the worst, expecting Riley to call the police; before something clicked in her mind, "wait… Daniel's Simmon's girlfriend is tall and blonde."

"Two things I'm not," Riley filled in, sitting at the end of the bed beside her.

"So, you're in Harry's room because…" Joy asked her, waiting for Riley to finish the rest of her sentence. Riley contemplated lying, explaining how she heard a noise from downstairs.

"I think Harry's sketchy. He might have something to do with his cousin, Harriet and Teresa's cases. Guess my curiosity got the better of me," Riley told her, choosing to stick as close to the truth as possible.

"That's because he is," Joy said simply, squeezing her hands together as if to keep herself from unravelling.

Waiting a moment to gather her thoughts, Riley didn't want to push Joy into talking about something she wasn't ready to. But they needed info, and unfortunately, emotions came second. "Do you know something the police don't?" Riley cautiously asked her, rounding her tone with a softness to ensure it didn't feel like she was prodding her for information.

"I've a photo of him," she said simply, as Riley racked her memory of all the photos on Joy's phone that she previously went through.

Joy's eyes filled with tears as she squeezed her hands harder, "and he has photo of me," her voice broke as she inhaled sharply, stopping the tears from bursting out of her eyes.

Riley placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezing, allowing Joy to catch her breath before continuing. There was a noise from downstairs, a brash laughter and someone's shoes pounded against the timber floors. Both Riley and Joy froze for a moment, following the sounds of footsteps to see where they would lead.

For a moment there was silence, Daniel obviously standing still, probably catching a reflection of himself in a shiny surface.

Taking two more steps, the sound of the front door being pulled open and a loud greeting.

Riley tuned out as soon as she realized Daniel wasn't coming their way. Yet anyway.

"So, it's like blackmail?"

Joy nodded her head in response, sniffling softly and wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"Is the photo really that bad?" Riley asked her, wondering why the girl was in such a state.

Joy nodded, beginning to shake slightly, "he stole my phone during school, I'm guessing to look through all the photos. But at the time I was using my sister's phone; my one was out of battery and mom didn't want me going to the party without a phone," Joy rambled, explaining with her shaking hands.

"So you're looking for more dirt, so you can one up him," Riley concluded, still wondering what the photos were.

"Yeah, but it's no use,"

"How bad is the photo?"

"Pretty bad,"

"And it's of…?" Riley waited for her to fill in the details, desperately hoping to fill in the blanks.

Joy's eyes bored in Riley's, as if searching her soul for trust. A moment passed, and whatever she was looking for she seemed.

"I have a photo of Harry and Teresa together. At the time, no one knew. So, in history class I went to Teresa and she swore me to secrecy. Then Laura goes missing. Then Teresa. So, I confronted Harry, who has a connection to both, and he showed me a picture of…" Joy trailed off, taking a deep gulp before continuing, "a photo of myself and Laura,"

Riley was confused for a moment. Why would a teenage girl be so afraid of a photo of herself and another girl unless…

The moment clicked.

"You and Laura were together?" Riley both concluded and question.

Joy nodded, "no one knew. I don't even know where he got that photo of us, multiple photos of us. If that gets out… my parents don't even know I'm gay," Joy whispered, her voice crackling.

Riley wrapped her arm around her and let her cry, feeling the girl crumble beneath the weight of her problems, "okay, I'll look for dirt on Harry, I can help. Let me help," Riley pleaded with her softly, hoping to ease her worries.

Snuffling loudly, Joy pulled herself together and nodded in agreement, "don't you have better things to worry about?"

"I'm after finding myself with a lot of free time. I need a new past time anyway," Riley joked while Joy's mouth quirked up in agreement.

"Riley, your husband is starting to miss you," Daniel's voice travelled loudly as his footsteps began to approach Harry's room. Joy jumped slightly where she was, quickly she moved towards the window, already knowing where she was going.

A light clicked in her mind, and Riley looked at the easy way Joy climbed out the window and began stretching towards the balcony next door.

Riley's eyes widened in shock, "did you break into my house?" she whispered yelled, as Joy's feet landed with a thump to the neighbor's balcony floor.

Like a deer caught in headlights, Joy's head snapped up, "long story," she whispered back, as she slipped through the open window.

Riley composed herself quickly, snapping a book from Harry's sparse bookshelf and began stifling through the pages as if that was her intention all along.

"Ah," Daniel said loudly from the entrance of the door, alerting her attention as he stared at her perplexed, "didn't think I'd find you in my nephews room."

"Your nephew," Riley concluded, as if it was a realization, "I thought it might be a son,"

"No offspring from me," Daniel winked, once again as if there was a sexually innuendo to be proud of. "My sister's kid died and then she took in my other sister's son and it got messy. I said I'd step up, take the little rascal in. Except, he's sixteen now and a lot more trouble than he used to be."

Riley replied with a huff of laughter, passing the book to her other hand and reading the back of it, "I actually had this as a child," she began, taking Daniel's mind out of the unusual gutters.

"The Secret Seven; I loved the series. Is your nephew big into adventure stores?" Riley asked him, carefully placing the book back on the shelf.

Daniel shrugged, moving away from the door and swaggering towards her, "the real question is why are you always finding yourself _alone_ around me _Mrs_. Williams." Moving closer to her, injecting his voice with a low sultry tone that he problem enjoys more than any woman will. Riley could feel her heartrate spike, knowing what he was implying. Trying to keep the nausea away, she knew she had to play along.

 _Maintain your cover,_ Matty's voice reminded her in her mind.

"And why do you think that Mr. Simmons?" Riley whispered, taking a miniscule step towards the door.

Daniel laughed, lifting a hand to her face and dragging his finger along her jaw line, "I think you're a little devious, don't you?"

Riley controlled her heart rate, grasping hold of Daniel's hand gently, "you're not going to find out; especially with my husband down the hall," she implied, lifting an eyebrow and dropping his hand like a hot stone. Waltzing away from him, she looked over her shoulder, sending him a wink to ensure she had sealed his intention.

The grin on his face was practically ferocious, believing he had finally won Riley to his side. He seemed to have forgotten his initial curiosity, and Riley was relieved.

Knowing it was better to string him along than have him suspicious of her intentions. She felt ill flirting with the man when Mac was a few feet away. She felt disloyal. She hated it.

 _All pretend,_ she reminded herself, but every time she spoke those words, they seemed further and further away from the truth. It all didn't feel so pretend anymore.

Returning to the living room, her mind felt overwhelmed with exhaustion. All she wanted was to grab Mac and go home.

But as usual, life liked to roundhouse kick Riley in the face. A kick that would knock the wind out of her, send her to the floor and leave her dazed.

All those feelings flew at her within milliseconds, when the woman who had her hand resting on Mac's arm turned to face Riley. Long legs, blonde hair, straight teeth; exactly how Daniel described her.

Except he failed to mention, that woman was _Nicki._


End file.
